RADFORD — Liberty junior right-hander Julia DiMartino had spent the better part of the past two weeks battling flu-like symptoms. She missed practices to speed up the recovery process and still had enough energy to pitch when her number was called.
DiMartino woke up Saturday morning and did not feel the effects of the flu.
Her stellar outing later in the day backed up how well she felt in the circle, and it secured the Flames a long-awaited berth into the NCAA Tournament.
DiMartino threw a three-hit complete game, Autumn and Amber Bishop delivered run-scoring doubles to provide all of the offense Liberty needed, and the top-seeded Flames defeated third-seeded Radford 5-1 in the Big South Conference softball tournament championship game Saturday afternoon at Radford Softball Stadium.
“It felt pretty good being able to come back and I knew my team was going to do it,” DiMartino said.
The Flames (47-12) secured the conference’s automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament, the program’s third appearance in the regional field and first since 2011. The first regional appearance came in 2002.
DiMartino (27-7), a two-time Big South pitcher of the year, was electric in the circle against the Highlanders (36-19). She did not walk any batters and threw first-pitch strikes to 19 of the 25 batters she faced in her 23rd complete game of the season.
The secret to her success was pitching backwards. Instead of starting off the pitch sequence with a rise ball, Flames pitching coach Paige Cassady called for more changeups early in the count, and then used the rise ball for DiMartino’s six strikeouts.
“They had no idea what was coming because we were mixing it up so much,” Liberty coach Kaitlin McFarland said. “Her changeups were on and they had no idea when they were coming and they were guessing when they were coming. That’s what’s going to win you ballgames.”
DiMartino struck out six batters and became the program’s all-time leader in strikeouts with 574. She surpassed the previous mark of 573 set by Tiffani Smith, who pitched at Liberty from 2008 through 2011.
“Jules was spot-on today,” Liberty coach Dot Richardson said. “You saw a little more pop in her step and you could hear the mitt popping as well.”
DiMartino was given enough run support with RBI doubles from the Bishop twins — the first coming in the second inning and the second coming in the fourth that served as the nail in the Highlanders’ coffin.
The Flames broke through in the second inning against Radford starter Abby Morrow, who was pitching a little more than 12 hours after throwing 124 pitches in a 12-inning marathon against Longwood.
Taylor Hoffman recorded the game’s first hit on a two-out bunt single in front of the plate and advanced to second on Alexia Taylor’s line-drive single to center field.
Jasmeen Click loaded the bases by reaching on a bunt single, and Autumn Bishop, the tournament MVP, drilled her 25th double of the season off the right-field wall to score Hoffman and Taylor to give Liberty a 2-0 lead.
“It was inside. She gave me a changeup and I knew she was throwing changeups a lot, and I would not swing at a changeup. It came inside and I was just like, ‘Rip it,’ ” Bishop said.
Radford freshman right fielder Brianna Mills, a former Gretna High standout, led off the third inning with an infield single down the third-base line to mark the first base runner against DiMartino.
Mills finished with two of the Highlanders’ three hits.
“[DiMartino] was on her game still, but I just tried to help out the team the best I could,” Mills said.
After back-to-back fielder’s choices following Mills’ third-inning single, Lauren Maddrey stole second base and scored on Marissa Gagliano’s double into the left-center field gap that cut the Highlanders’ deficit to 2-1.
The Flames loaded the bases in the bottom of the fourth and Morrow (23-12) was lifted for Kayla Hoffman. Amber Bishop greeted Hoffman with a bases-clearing double down the left-field line that gave Liberty a 5-1 lead.
“[Friday] when we played them, [Hoffman] was pitching me in and I kept getting jammed and not hitting the ball well,” Bishop said. “I was just focusing on seeing the ball and trying to rip it. I saw the pitch that I liked and I went after it and I was happy that we had bases loaded.”
The Bishops drove in all five runs, and the two have combined for 45 of the team’s 101 doubles this season.
“I’ve always said if we can roll the lineup over to the Bishops, we’ve got a great chance to score,” Richardson said. “The two of them, Autumn and Amber, their numbers are so similar. I know they’re not identical twins, but boy, their statistics are pretty identical.”
EXTRA BASES: Liberty set a program record for victories in a season and extended its program-record winning streak to 17 games. … Liberty third baseman Jaclyn Amader’s fielding error in the top of the fourth inning was the Flames’ first miscue since April 26 against Hampton. … Tori Zavodny served as a pinch hitter for Jasmeen Click in the seventh inning. The senior struck out looking in her seventh at-bat since tearing the ACL in her left knee March 18 against Campbell. Zavodny opted to not have surgery so she could get into games before her collegiate career concluded. … DiMartino, Alexia Taylor and Taylor Hoffman joined Autumn Bishop on the all-tournament team.