Softball Drops Four at Charlotte Tournament

Charlotte, N.C. - Radford's softball team dropped all four games at the Charlotte Tournament this weekend. After falling to Stony Brooke and Tulsa on Friday, the Highlanders could not rebound, losing to host Charlotte, 8-0 and Charleston Southern 4-3 in their games on Saturday. RU falls to 4-14 this season.

The Highlanders were shutout in their opener, 7-0 to Stony Brook. The Red Flash jumped on RU with a pair of runs in the first and second innings on their way to the win. They would tack on three more in the sixth for the final margin. The Highlanders could only muster four hits off of Stephanie Poetzsch who earned the complete game victory with 10 strikeouts. Hallie East went 2 for 2 for the RU. Teresa Brewer picked up the loss, giving up four run on six hits in an inning and two-thirds.

Game two against Tulsa saw Radford get on the board first, when Payton Nash knocked home Amber Drexel with a two-out RBI double in the top of the first. The Hurricanes would strike back with a three-spot in the second inning. The Highlanders knotted things up in the third on a RBI single by Deana Benner and another two-out double by Nash. Tulsa took command in the fourth, scoring six runs on seven hits, all with two outs. They would add a run in the sixth and take home the 10-3 victory.

On day two, Charlotte (12-6) scored two runs in each inning and the Highlanders were shutout for the second time in the tournament, this time 8-0 in five innings. Kristy Constantino and Autumn Lawson both had strong outings for the 49ers, going 3-for-3 at the plate. Constantino also added two runs and batted in two more. Ashley Smith, Nash and Drexel each went 1 for 2 for the Highlanders. Brandy Winstead took the loss, giving up seven runs on 12 hits, while striking out four in three innings.

After the Highlanders scored single runs in the top halves of the fifth and sixth innings to take a 3-2 lead, Charleston Southern rallied with a pair in the bottom of the sixth to pull out the 4-3 win. Smith went 4 for 4, while Nash, East and Drexel each had a pair of hits for Radford. Jennifer Foster went 3 for 4 with three RBI and a pair of runs scored to lead the Lady Bucs.

Radford will be home during Spring Break, when they host Virginia Tech on March 12 at 3 p.m.