Thursday, March 18
Radford, Va.
3:00 PM
Liberty University
12-7, 0
2
at
8
Radford
8-8, 0
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | Runs R | Hits H | Errors E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberty | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 2 |
| Radford | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | X | 8 | 11 | 0 |
Liberty Drops Conference Opener, 8-2
3/18/2010 12:00:00 AM | Softball
The Radford Highlanders scored in five out of six innings, handing the Liberty Lady Flames an 8-2 loss, Thursday afternoon, in Game 1 of a doubleheader in Radford, Va. Despite scoring two runs early, the Liberty bats stayed quiet for the remainder of the game.
The Lady Flames started the game swinging the bat. J'nae Jefferson led off the game with a single through the left side. But, the Highlanders cleared the bases on the next play, as Jenny Law grounded into a 6-4-3 double play.
With two outs, Ashley Bensinger drew a walk, and cleanup hitter Kelly Strickland connected for a timely homer to right field, her seventh of the year, to give Liberty a 2-0 lead.
Radford got a run back in the bottom of the first. 2009 Big South Tournament MVP Kristen Shifflett led off with a single through the left side, and Nichole Beall struck out swinging for the first out.
Sarah Himan then singled through the left side to move Shifflett to second, and Shannon Keefe dropped a blooper into short center field for a single, driving in the Highlanders' first run of the day.
But starting pitcher Katie Warrington fanned designated player Taylor Cunningham, and Hope Creasy popped up to Warrington for the third out.
After a 1-2-3 Liberty at-bat, the Highlanders tied the contest up in the bottom of the second, 2-2, when Michelle Beall homered for the second time in 2010 with a solo homer to left.
The Liberty defense then got into trouble, when Radford put runners on second and third base with nobody out. Warrington battled back with two big strikeouts, but Hope Creasy singled through the left side to score Nichole Beall and Himan, and Vicki Madden followed with a double to right field to drive in another run, giving the Highlanders a 5-2 advantage.
The Lady Flames tried to generate a comeback in the top of the fourth. With one out, Strickland singled down the left field line, and Amber DePasquale reached when she was hit by a pitch. However, Bridgett Woods popped out to the shortstop, Shifflett, who then tagged second for the double play, catching Strickland too far off the bag.
With one out in the bottom of the fourth, Shifflett hit a solo homer over the center field fence to extend the Highlanders' lead to 6-2, prompting Liberty head coach Paul Wetmore to bring in Tiffani Smith in relief. Smith fanned No. 2 batter Nichole Beall, and induced Himan to fly out to right field.
With one out in the top of the fifth, Jenna Eatmon singled up the middle, her second hit of the year. Cassie Hendrix followed with a single to the bottom of the right field fence to put runners on first and second. But Radford was able to get out of the jam, as Jefferson flew out to right field, and Eatmon was forced out at third on a fielder's choice grounder by Law.
The Lady Flames threatened again in the top of the sixth, when DePasquale led off with a two-out single to left field, and Bridgett Woods drew a walk. But the runners were stranded, as Kaylee West popped out to second.
The Highlanders added two more runs in the bottom of the sixth on sacrifice flies by Shifflett and Nichole Beall. The second run scored on an error by catcher Bensinger, who dropped the throw from left fielder Law.
The Lady Flames couldn't spark any offense in the final inning, and Radford picked up the 8-2 win.
Strickland led Liberty, batting 2-for-3 with a home run, driving in Liberty's two runs. Shifflett paced the Highlanders, batting 2-for-3 with two RBIs and two runs scored.
Warrington (5-2) suffered the loss in the circle, giving up nine hits and striking out four. Chelsea Kelley (6-3), the 2009 Big South Pitcher of the Year, picked up the win, giving up six hits and striking out three batters in the complete-game appearance.
With the loss, Liberty drops to 12-7 overall and 0-1 in the Big South, while Radford improves to 8-8 overall and 1-0 in conference play.
The two squads will square off in Game 2 of today's doubleheader later this afternoon.
The Lady Flames started the game swinging the bat. J'nae Jefferson led off the game with a single through the left side. But, the Highlanders cleared the bases on the next play, as Jenny Law grounded into a 6-4-3 double play.
With two outs, Ashley Bensinger drew a walk, and cleanup hitter Kelly Strickland connected for a timely homer to right field, her seventh of the year, to give Liberty a 2-0 lead.
Radford got a run back in the bottom of the first. 2009 Big South Tournament MVP Kristen Shifflett led off with a single through the left side, and Nichole Beall struck out swinging for the first out.
Sarah Himan then singled through the left side to move Shifflett to second, and Shannon Keefe dropped a blooper into short center field for a single, driving in the Highlanders' first run of the day.
But starting pitcher Katie Warrington fanned designated player Taylor Cunningham, and Hope Creasy popped up to Warrington for the third out.
After a 1-2-3 Liberty at-bat, the Highlanders tied the contest up in the bottom of the second, 2-2, when Michelle Beall homered for the second time in 2010 with a solo homer to left.
The Liberty defense then got into trouble, when Radford put runners on second and third base with nobody out. Warrington battled back with two big strikeouts, but Hope Creasy singled through the left side to score Nichole Beall and Himan, and Vicki Madden followed with a double to right field to drive in another run, giving the Highlanders a 5-2 advantage.
The Lady Flames tried to generate a comeback in the top of the fourth. With one out, Strickland singled down the left field line, and Amber DePasquale reached when she was hit by a pitch. However, Bridgett Woods popped out to the shortstop, Shifflett, who then tagged second for the double play, catching Strickland too far off the bag.
With one out in the bottom of the fourth, Shifflett hit a solo homer over the center field fence to extend the Highlanders' lead to 6-2, prompting Liberty head coach Paul Wetmore to bring in Tiffani Smith in relief. Smith fanned No. 2 batter Nichole Beall, and induced Himan to fly out to right field.
With one out in the top of the fifth, Jenna Eatmon singled up the middle, her second hit of the year. Cassie Hendrix followed with a single to the bottom of the right field fence to put runners on first and second. But Radford was able to get out of the jam, as Jefferson flew out to right field, and Eatmon was forced out at third on a fielder's choice grounder by Law.
The Lady Flames threatened again in the top of the sixth, when DePasquale led off with a two-out single to left field, and Bridgett Woods drew a walk. But the runners were stranded, as Kaylee West popped out to second.
The Highlanders added two more runs in the bottom of the sixth on sacrifice flies by Shifflett and Nichole Beall. The second run scored on an error by catcher Bensinger, who dropped the throw from left fielder Law.
The Lady Flames couldn't spark any offense in the final inning, and Radford picked up the 8-2 win.
Strickland led Liberty, batting 2-for-3 with a home run, driving in Liberty's two runs. Shifflett paced the Highlanders, batting 2-for-3 with two RBIs and two runs scored.
Warrington (5-2) suffered the loss in the circle, giving up nine hits and striking out four. Chelsea Kelley (6-3), the 2009 Big South Pitcher of the Year, picked up the win, giving up six hits and striking out three batters in the complete-game appearance.
With the loss, Liberty drops to 12-7 overall and 0-1 in the Big South, while Radford improves to 8-8 overall and 1-0 in conference play.
The two squads will square off in Game 2 of today's doubleheader later this afternoon.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: KELLEY, Chelsea (6-3)
L: Warrington, Katie (5-2)
Batting:
HR: Strickland, Kelly 1
RBI: Strickland, Kelly 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Bensinger, Ashley 1 ; Strickland, Kelly 1
HBP: DePasquale, Amber 1
Batting:
2B: MADDEN, Vicki 1 ; BEALL, Michelle 1
HR: SHIFFLETT, Kristen 1 ; BEALL, Michelle 1
RBI: SHIFFLETT, Kristen 2 ; BEALL, Nichole 1 ; KEEFE, Shannon 1 ; CREASY, Hope 2 ; MADDEN, Vicki 1 ; BEALL, Michelle 1
SF: SHIFFLETT, Kristen 1 ; BEALL, Nichole 1
Base Running:
RUNS: SHIFFLETT, Kristen 2 ; BEALL, Nichole 1 ; HIMAN, Sarah 1 ; CREASY, Hope 1 ; BEALL, Michelle 1 ; EYE, Morgan 1 ; WILLIAMS, Lauren 1
SB: BEALL, Nichole 1 ; KEEFE, Shannon 1
Game Leaders
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
2
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
2
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
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