Lady Flames Edge Highlanders, 5-3
4/7/2015 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Liberty broke a 2-2 tie with a three-run third inning, claiming game one of a doubleheader, 5-3, over Radford on Tuesday at Kamphuis Field at Liberty Softball Stadium.
The Lady Flames (18-20, 7-6 Big South) won their series opener for the fourth time in five Big South series so far this season. Radford falls to 9-19, 4-5 in Big South play.
Liberty redshirt junior Chandler Ball (12-7) went the distance, allowing three runs (two earned) on four hits, walking four and tying her season high with six strikeouts.
Senior Kelsey Weddle (2-5) drew the loss, yielding five runs (two earned) on six hits while striking out one.
Freshman Madison Kotchey went 2-for-3 with two RBI for Liberty, while freshman Tori Zavodny batted 1-for-2 with a home run, two RBI and two runs scored. Senior Kelby Allen hit 1-for-3 with two runs scored, while freshman Jessica Cicerchia went 1-for-3 with a double.
Radford sophomore Summer Robinson batted 2-for-3 with a double and one run scored. Freshman Maggie Rowe batted 1-for-4 with a home run.
Junior Becky Mantel reached on an error to lead off the game. After stealing second and taking third on a groundout, she was erased via fielder's choice, keeping Radford off the board.
The Lady Flames staged a two-out rally to take the lead in the first inning. Allen hit an infield single, before Zavodny launched a two-run homer to right center. Kotchey then singled, and Weddle got out of the inning when Kassidy McCoy flied to left.
Weddle worked around a two-out double by Cicerchia in the bottom of the second, leaving the score 2-0 through two innings.
Robinson led off the third stanza with a double, and Nia Chiles drew a walk. Mantel hit an RBI single, putting the Highlanders on the board. Chiles then scored on a double-steal play, making it 2-2. Ball lessened the damage from two errors, getting the last two batters to ground out.
Liberty capitalized on a pair of Radford errors in the bottom of the third, as Allen and Zavodny both reached via error. Kotchey then lined a two-run single. With Kotchey on second and two outs, Jamie Crisp made it 5-2 with an RBI single to left.
Radford came up empty on a bases-loaded situation during the fourth frame. With the bases full and two out, Honaker lined out to third.
The Highlanders received a pair of sixth-inning baserunners, as Kayla Bishton walked and Mackenzie Blackwell singled with one out. Ball fanned the next two batters, Chiles and Mantel, to defuse the rally.
After Liberty went in order in the bottom of the sixth, Radford drew to within 5-3 on a two-out solo shot by Rowe. Ball clinched the victory, getting Whitney Davis to ground out to second.
Game two between the Lady Flames and Highlanders is currently under way.
