Softball Bounces Back with Dominant Effort Over Presbyterian to Advance in Big South Tournament

Thursday, May 7

Spartanburg, SC

2:00 PM

Radford University

23-26

USC Upstate

34-21

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Radford	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	1
USC Upstate	0	1	0	0	0	0	X	1	4	0

Team	1	2	3	4	5	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Presbyterian	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	2
Radford	5	1	4	0	X	10	7	0

Photo by: Jason Aigner

Softball Bounces Back with Dominant Effort Over Presbyterian to Advance in Big South Tournament

5/7/2026 9:20:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – After falling in their first game of the day to tournament hosts No. 2 USC Upstate 1-0, Radford bounced back in a major way with a dominant 10-0 victory in five innings over No. 4 Presbyterian.

GAME ONE
Facing an uphill battle against the weekend hosts in game one against USC Upstate, starting pitcher Dakota Redmon was up to the challenge. She tossed a perfect first and picked up her first hit in the second, but a double play wiped the opportunity.

The Spartans would strike for their lone run of the game in the bottom of the second. After a lead off walk moved to second on a bunt, Redmon nearly escaped the inning unscathed with two ground balls. One found its way through the right side, though, and after a close play at the plate the Spartans took the 1-0 lead.

Redmon would toss scoreless third and fourth innings, but Radford's offense was held similarly empty. In the fifth, Radford would get its best opportunity of the game. Redmon singled, Abby Bossler walked and Isabel Harrison singled to load the bases with just one out. Radford emptied the bench recognizing the opportunity, but a ground out and pop out left the Highlanders empty handed.

Redmon kept cruising, though, working through a pair of hit by pitches in the fifth to keep the deficit at one. Another hit by pitch in the sixth went unpunished leading to Radford's final chance in the seventh. Kelley Feigen would pick up a single, but the Highlanders rally would go no further as USC Upstate held on to take the game 1-0 and knock Radford into the bottom half of the bracket.

GAME TWO
While Radford's second game got off to a shaky start for starting pitcher Morgan Cooper, she would lock things down before the offense picked her up and the team never looked back. The Blue Hose loaded the bases with just one out in the top of the first. Cooper never looked shaken, though, and immediately induced two straight pop outs to keep the game at 0-0.

Needing a spark after a disappointing game one, it was Feigen who would ignite Radford's offensive efforts right away in the bottom of the first. Peyton Simmons and Redmon both singled to put two on and with two outs Feigen hit a bullet to left field that snuck over the fence for a 3-0 lead.

Not satisfied, Radford kept adding on. Harrison walked and Amanda Lee doubled to put another pair in scoring position. After Bossler walked, Grace Bechtol hit a hard liner to short that deflected off the glove and into the outfield. That allowed two to score and give Radford a 5-0 advantage after the first inning.

With a sizeable lead, Cooper worked with ease the rest of the way. After a clean second that included a strikeout, the offense kept adding on in the bottom half thanks to a solo shot to the opposite field from Redmon. Ahead 6-0, Cooper picked up another strikeout in a clean third.

Bechtol drew a walk to begin the bottom of the third and an error allowed Radford to build another scoring threat. After Groves reached on a fielder's choice, Redmon stepped to the plate and delivered her biggest hit of the season. The sophomore crushed a grand slam to left center that blew the game wide open for a 10-0 lead. The grand slam was the first by a Highlander in the postseason since 2016 by Kayla Bishton against Campbell.

With all the runs they'd need and then some, Cooper would ensure the lopsided final stayed that way. The Blue Hose would record just two hits over the final two innings as Cooper picked up two more strikeouts. That pushed Cooper's total to six, which is a postseason high for the junior. Her effort would be more than enough as Radford left no doubt in the 10-0 final.

UP NEXT
Radford keeps their postseason dreams alive with the win over Presbyterian and will compete tomorrow against the fifth seed Gardner-Webb at 2:30 p.m. on ESPN+. Should the Highlanders advance again, they will play right away at 5:00 p.m. against the loser of Winthrop and USC Upstate, also streaming on ESPN+.

STAY SOCIAL WITH RADFORD SOFTBALL
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