Highlander Softball Splits Big South Tournament Day One

ROCK HILL, S.C. - Second-seeded Radford.split day one at the 2005 Big South Conference Softball Championships, collecting a 12-4 win over seventh seeded Charleston Southern in the first round before falling 4-0 to third-seeded Texas A&M Corpus Christi.

The Highlanders will face Coastal Carolina Friday at 3:00 pm in the consolation bracket.

Game One Box

Game Two Box

Radford pounded out 18 hits as it defeated seventh-seeded Charleston Southern, 12-4 in six innings, in Game Two of the Big South Softball Championships.

Charleston Southern got on the scoreboard in the first, courtesy of an infield single and a misplayed popup. Ashley Robinson led off with a single off of the second baseman Lara Wohlgemuth's (Centreville, Va.) glove. After a pair of popups, RU first baseman Danielle Tompkins (Equality, Ill.) backed away from Tiffany Reid’s popup at the last second and the ball tipped off Wohlgemuth’s glove and rolled into foul territory, allowing Robinson the scoot home from first.

The Highlanders responded in the bottom half of the inning, scoring three runs on five hits. With one out and runners on first and second Ashley Taylor (Ringgold, Va.) doubled to left center scoring Wohlgemuth and Ashley Carlson (Chesapeake, Va.). Amanda Walling (Summerville, S.C.) followed with a two-bagger to score Taylor.

RU added single runs in the second and fourth innings on a RBI singles by Wohlgemuth and Ashley Smith (Roanoke, Va.). CSU's Katie McKay led off the fifth with a solo home run to right center. The Lady Bucs mounted a two-out threat, putting runners on second and third, but Breanna Felix (Spring Valley, Calif.) struck out Jacqui Mines on a 3-2 pitch, ending the threat.

Cassie Rhodes (Goode, Va.) provided RU with a run the bottom of the fifth on a two-out RBI double to right center scoring Walling. The Lady Bucs cut the lead back to 6-4 in the top of the sixth. A solo blast by Dorothy Page to lead off the inning made it 6-3. With two outs, Jill Shondell lined a triple to right center plating McKay. Taylor came in relief of Felix and struck out Joanna Mazurkiewicz to end the inning.

Radford put the game away with six runs in the bottom of the sixth, highlighted by a two-run round tripper by Smith and a bases loaded triple by Sara Beth Clayton (Chesapeake, Va.).

Smith, Carlson and Walling each had three hits as every starter for the Highlanders contributed with at least one base knock. Smith and Clayton each had three RBI. Robinson went 2-for-3 with a run scored. McKay led the Lady Bucs with two runs scored.

Felix earned the win, improving to 26-11 overall. She went 5.2 innings, allowing four runs, three earned on seven hits. She struck out four and did not walk a batter. Whitney James suffered the loss, lasting a third of an inning allowing three runs on five hits. In relief, Amanda Noble went five innings, giving up nine runs on 13 hits, striking out two and walking two.

Sarah Pauly tossed a complete game one-hit shutout to help advance No. 3 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (39-9) past No. 2 Radford (39-23), 4-0 in the Highlander's second game of the day. Pauly entered the seventh inning with a perfect game, but Wohlgemuth blooped a single to left to break it up and provide RU with its only base runner of the game.

Pauly finished the game with 12 strikeouts as she improved to 34-5 on the season. Nekkia Neash, Holly Kellog and Lauren Peters each had two hits for the Islanders who will advance and play top seeded Winthrop at 6 pm. The Highlanders will face fourth seeded Coastal Carolina at 3 pm.

The Islanders got on the scoreboard in the third on a RBI single by Holly Kellog. Lauren Peters and Erica Armenta started the inning with back-to-back singles. They were moved over on a sacrifice bunt by Michelle Petree which was then followed by Kellog’s single to center.

A two-out bases loaded double by Nekkia Neash in the top of the seventh gave TAMUCC a 4-0 lead and sizable cushion entering the bottom half of the inning. With one out, Kellog doubled to left center, followed by a Hanson walk and a Golden single to load the bases. After force out at home, Neash stepped up and lined a 2-1 pitch to the right center gap, clearing the bases.

Taylor suffered the loss, going the distance for Radford. She gave up eight hits, struck out two and walked two batters.