Radford used five home runs in two games to take the 6-0 win over the Presbyterian College softball team in the both games of a doubleheader this afternoon in Radford, Va.
PC drops to 19-18 overall and 4-7 in the Big South, while Radford improves to 11-19, 5-3.
Game One: RU 6, PC 0
After two quiet innings to start game one, Radford opened the third with a walk by Becky Mantel. After a foul out by Nia Chiles, Jessie Hutchens reached on a hit by pitch to put runners on first and second with one out. Whitney Davis stepped to the plate and knocked a three-run shot, her fourth of the season, over the center field wall to give the Highlanders the quick 3-0 lead. Casey Burns followed it up her third home run of the year and the home team led 4-0.
In a game of home runs, Mantel made it 5-0 with a home run over left field in the fourth inning, her fourth. In the sixth, Chiles scored off a PC error to give Radford the 6-0 final score.
PC collected three hits in the game, with Jill McLean, Kersten Legacki and Shelby Petik recording one apiece.
Katie Brown took the loss for PC, going 2.1 innings and surrendering four runs off six hits.
Mantel, Chiles and Kayla Bishton led Radford with two hits apiece, with Davis pacing the team with three RBI. As a team Radford came away with nine hits.
Abby Morrow was solid in the circle for Radford, going six innings and striking out nine, while giving up just three hits.
Game Two: RU 6, PC 0
Radford struck early in game two, scoring in the first inning off a sacrifice bunt by Hutchens that plated Mantel, who had led off the inning with a double to left and taken third off a passed ball.
The Highlanders struck again in the second with another home run by Mantel, her second of the day, with a two-run shot over to take Radford up 3-0. She brought home Bishton who had a base hit to open the stanza.
After Hutchens led off the third with a single, Burns followed it up with a double to put runners on second and third with one out for Radford. Two batters later Bishton hit her second home run of the season, this one a three-run shot to vault the Highlanders to a 6-0 lead.
PC opened the fourth with a walk by McLean and a single by Erin Ruff, PC's first hit of the game, but back to back pop ups and a ground out ended the Blue Hose rally before it could begin.
The Blue Hose held the Highlanders scoreless the remaining three innings, but were unable to mount a rally either, falling by the final 6-0 score.
Rachel Walters pitched a complete-game one-hit shutout for Radford, surrendering one hit with five strikeouts for the win (5-8).
Sydney Seigler took the loss for PC, going 2.2 innings and giving up five earned runs off six hits, while striking out four. Natasha Sherrod was solid in relief for PC, throwing 3.1 innings of two-hit shutout softball.
Ruff collected PC's lone hit, while Mantel and Bishton paced Radford with two hits apiece. The Highlanders recorded eight hits, with Bishton on top in RBI with three.
