Offense Powers RU To Pair of Wins at BSC Championships;
Three Highlanders Named to All-Conference Team

CSU Box
Elon Box

Rock Hill, S.C. - Radford scored 18 runs and pounded out 27 hits in route to a pair of wins at the Big South Championships. A six-run fourth in game one broke a three-all tie and RU cruised to an 11-3 five-inning victory over Charleston Southern in the first round of the Big South Softball Tournament. Behind a pair of home runs in game two, the Highlanders held off a late Elon rally for a 7-6 win.

Radford improves to 18-39 on the season and will play Liberty at 5:00 p.m. tomorrow. The Lady Flames upset #1 seed Coastal Carolina, 7-3 after squeaking by Winthrop in their first game 2-1. The winner of the game will play for the championship on Sunday.

In the fourth, RU scored the first run on three consecutive singles, the last by junior Tina Rogers, scoring freshman Kelly Miles from second. After a ground out, Amber Drexel and Ashleigh Brooks knocked a run each with back-to-back RBI singles. Drexel would score on a passed ball. After junior Donita Brady's infield single and freshman Ashley Smith's walk loaded the bases, junior Payton Nash doubled home Brooks and Brady extending the lead to 9-3.

The Lady Bucs struck for two runs in the first on a pair of Radford errors. With two outs and the bases loaded, errors by Brady and sophomore Hallie East on the same play allowed CSU to score the two runs. The Highlanders cut the lead in half in the bottom half on an RBI groundout by Nash, scoring Brooks.

The Highlanders regained the lead in the third, 3-2, on Smith's two-run blast over the centerfield fence. CSU knotted things up in the top of the fourth on an RBI single by Jacquie Mines, scoring Samantha Miller who reached on East's error.

Radford closed out the scoring in the fifth on RBI double by Brooks. She would score on Brady's fourth infield single of the game. She went 4-for-4 with a pair of runs scored. Brooks finished 2-for-3 with two RBI and three runs. Roger and Drexel each went 2-for-3.

Sophomore Teresa Brewer (3-12) picked up the win, giving up three unearned runs on three hits. She walked two and struck out a pair.

In game two, Radford jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the second on Rogers' two-run homer, her first of her career, to right. Elon would get one back in the bottom half on a two-out RBI single by Dana Richardson.

The Phoenix grabbed their first lead of the game, 3-2, in the fourth. With one out and runners on second and third, Natalie Layden singled home two runs with a single up the middle.

The Highlanders regained the lead in the top of the fifth on an RBI single by Drexel. The tied it up a batter earlier when Rogers scampered home from second on Elon shortstop Chelsea Buffington's second error of the inning. They would up the score to 6-3 in the sixth on freshman Stephanie Adams' first career homer to left center and added what would be the game-winner with an RBI single by Smith in the seventh.

Elon would make things interesting in the seventh as their rally would fall one run short. After scoring their first run on a throwing error by Adams, Pam Brock would single with one out to left to make it 7-5. With two outs Lori Notaro would make in a one-run game with a run-scoring double, scoring Brock. But the rally ended when Layden grounded out to first to end the threat.

For the day, Brady led the offensive surge, going 6-fo-9, all infield hits, with 2 runs and a RBI. Drexel went 4-for-7 with two runs and two RBI. Brooks also batted 4-for-7 with four runs and two RBI and also was solid defensively at third posted seven putouts and five assists. She also walked in the second tying the school's career record of 65.

The 11 runs scored against CSU is new school record in BSC Tournament play. Their previous high was 10 in a 17-10 loss to the Lady Bucs in 1993.

At the awards banquet held this afternoon, Brooks, Smith and Deana Benner were named to the second team.