#3 Radford Eliminates #4 Presbyterian, 10-0
By Radford Athletics
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – After falling in their first game of the day to tournament hosts No. 2 USC Upstate 1-0, Radford bounced back in a major way with a dominant 10-0 victory in five innings over No. 4 Presbyterian.
While Radford's second game got off to a shaky start for starting pitcher
Morgan Cooper, she would lock things down before the offense picked her up and the team never looked back. The Blue Hose loaded the bases with just one out in the top of the first. Cooper never looked shaken, though, and immediately induced two straight pop outs to keep the game at 0-0.
Needing a spark after a disappointing game one, it was Feigen who would ignite Radford's offensive efforts right away in the bottom of the first.
Peyton Simmons and Redmon both singled to put two on and with two outs Feigen hit a bullet to left field that snuck over the fence for a 3-0 lead.
Not satisfied, Radford kept adding on. Harrison walked and
Amanda Lee doubled to put another pair in scoring position. After Bossler walked,
Grace Bechtol hit a hard liner to short that deflected off the glove and into the outfield. That allowed two to score and give Radford a 5-0 advantage after the first inning.
With a sizeable lead, Cooper worked with ease the rest of the way. After a clean second that included a strikeout, the offense kept adding on in the bottom half thanks to a solo shot to the opposite field from Redmon. Ahead 6-0, Cooper picked up another strikeout in a clean third.
Bechtol drew a walk to begin the bottom of the third and an error allowed Radford to build another scoring threat. After Groves reached on a fielder's choice, Redmon stepped to the plate and delivered her biggest hit of the season. The sophomore crushed a grand slam to left center that blew the game wide open for a 10-0 lead. The grand slam was the first by a Highlander in the postseason since 2016 by Kayla Bishton against Campbell.
With all the runs they'd need and then some, Cooper would ensure the lopsided final stayed that way. The Blue Hose would record just two hits over the final two innings as Cooper picked up two more strikeouts. That pushed Cooper's total to six, which is a postseason high for the junior. Her effort would be more than enough as Radford left no doubt in the 10-0 final.
UP NEXT
Radford keeps their postseason dreams alive with the win over Presbyterian and will compete tomorrow against the fifth seed Gardner-Webb at 2:30 p.m. on ESPN+. Should the Highlanders advance again, they will play right away at 5:00 p.m. against the loser of Winthrop and USC Upstate, also streaming on ESPN+.