Felix and Smith Sweep Weekly Big South Softball Awards

Charlotte, N.C. - Radford softball swept the Conference weekly awards as right fielder Ashley Smith (Roanoke, Va.) was selected as the Big South Conference Choice Hotels Player of the Week, while sophomore Breanna Felix (Spring Valley, Calif.) earned New Balance Pitcher of the Week, announced today by the League Office. The duo helped the Highlanders to a 6-2 week.

Smith batted .615 (16-26) for the week, tallying a double, three home runs, 10 RBI, nine runs scored. She slugged 1.000 and had a .643 on base percentage. In four Big South games, the senior hit an amazing .846 (11-13) at the plate with two round-trippers, seven RBI, five runs scored and a 1.385 slugging percentage. She recorded three-straight three-hit games and registered at least one RBI in each contest.

Smith’s performance helped her batting average jump 57 points from .254 to .311. She’s currently on an eight-game hitting streak with multiple hits in five of those games and is just three RBI shy of breaking the all-time record of 120 held by Melissa Pickel (1995-97).

Felix went 4-0 last week with a 1.88 ERA in four complete games, picking up victories over Virginia and Conference foes Charleston Southern and Coastal Carolina to earn her second honor this season. In those contests, Felix struck out 32 batters and walked just one in 26 innings of work.

Against Appalachian State, she tallied nine strikeouts and allowed four hits, breaking the Radford single-season strikeout record. Against Virginia, she allowed just four hits and struck out five batters. Felix won her school-record 21st game of the season with a two-hitter vs. the Lady Buccaneers and closed out the week tying the single-game strikeout record for the second time this season with 14 strikeouts against the Lady Chants.

The Highlanders, at 33-22 overall and 5-3 in the Big South, are currently in a tie for third with Winthrop (5-3) one game behind first place co-leaders Coastal Carolina (6-4) and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (6-4).

They will close out Conference play this week with a pair of key road contests. Radford will face Liberty (3-5) on Wednesday at 2 pm and conclude with Birmingham-Southern (4-4) on Sunday at 1 pm CST. The Highs have one more home doubleheader, a non-conference tilt with Campbell on Friday, May 6.