In Radford, Liberty set a season high with a seven-run fourth inning, Elizabeth Engler threw five stellar innings of relief, and the top-seeded Flames opened the Big South Conference tournament Thursday with an 8-2 victory over fifth-seeded Gardner-Webb at Radford Softball Stadium.
LU (45-12) advances to the winner’s bracket and faces third-seeded Radford (35-17) at 2:30 p.m. today. The host Highlanders claimed a 4-1 victory over second-seeded Longwood (37-15).
Engler (8-2) allowed one run on six hits and struck out two in relief of Big South Pitcher of the Year Julia DiMartino.
The Flames scored seven times on seven hits in the fourth to take the lead for good. Amber Bishop (2 for 4) hit a two-run double, and Sarah Robertson (2 for 3) added a two-run single. Autumn Bishop (2 for 3), Jaclyn Amader and Kaitlin McFarland drove in runs during the inning.
Amber Bishop leads Division I with 19 doubles after hitting two Thursday.
Autumn Bishop hit her seventh home run of the season, a first-inning solo shot, to tie the game at 1, but the Runnin’ Bulldogs (29-28) responded on Katie Prebble’s 23rd homer of the season to take a 2-1 lead.
TRACK & FIELD
Liberty holds lead at Big South championships
In High Point, North Carolina, the Liberty men’s and women’s teams continue to lead after the second of three days at the Big South Conference championships at Vert Stadium.
The women enjoyed a robust day with three titles to take a 43.5-point lead over High Point.
Kylie Polsgrove won her second straight heptathlon by posting a facility record 4,906 points.
Naomi Mojica set the Big South all-time, meet and Liberty records with a throw of 52 feet, 3¼ inches in the shot put.
Erin Zappia claimed the high jump with a 5 foot, 7¼ inch clearance in a jumpoff to become Liberty’s first high jump champion since 2008.
The men own a 46-point lead over High Point thanks to William Partridge’s title in the shot put. He won with a personal-best throw of 55 feet, 1 inch.
Virginia Tech’s Seufer wins 10,000 at ACC
In Coral Gables, Florida, Virginia Tech junior and former E.C. Glass standout Peter Seufer won the 10,000-meter run at the Atlantic Coast Conference championships held at Cobb Stadium.
Seufer completed the event in 29:58.61, more than a full second ahead of Syracuse’s Iliass Aouani.