RADFORD, VA— Winthrop was shutout in back-to-back games of a double-header Saturday afternoon as Radford finished the series sweep with 5-0 and 7-0 victories.
The Eagles fall to 15-31 overall and finish Big South play with a 5-13 record. Radford improves to 31-15 and 12-2 in the league.
“When last year's pitcher of the year doesn't even start for them in any of the three games, what conclusion can you draw?” said Winthrop head coach Mark Cooke. “They are an improved pitching team and we didn't hit the ball and they played well. Inexperience got us again and it didn't help the upperclassmen didn't have a good weekend. Our goal is to regroup during exams and come out and try to win the conference title.”
Just like the first game of the double-header, Radford jumped out to an early lead in the bottom of the first inning as it posted six runs. Kristen Shifflett led off with a triple to right center and scored as Nichole Beall singled up the middle. Taylor Cunningham hit a grounder to short, but reached base on a fielder's choice that led to both runners being safe and moving over one bag on a Megan Chapman throwing error. Beall then scored on a wild pitch that also moved Cunningham to third.
After Shannon Keefe walked, Michelle Beall reached on an error by Alex White at third base and Keefe moved over to second as the bases were loaded with no outs. Vicki Madden grounded out to first, but moved the runners over as Cunningham scored to make it 3-0. Hannah Ojeda delivered a big one-out hit with a single to center field that plated two runs for a 5-0 lead and Lauren Williams made it 6-0 on a single to short that scored Ojeda.
Chelsey Schoenfeldt took the loss as she allowed six runs (three earned) on four hits with a walk and is now 8-13 on the year.
Radford's Jackie Jenkins combined with two other pitchers on the two-hit shutout as she improves to 15-2 on the year.
Freshman Natalie Becker held the Highlanders to just six hits in the first game of the day, but Radford managed five runs as Becker fell to 4-10 on the season. Becker allowed the five earned runs with four walks and four strikeouts.
It all started with a three-run first inning for the Highlanders. Shifflett led off with a single and moved to second on a wild pitch. Nichole Beall walked and then the bases were loaded after Cunningham reached on a fielder's choice to third base. Becker forced Keefe into grounder to short and Chapman's throw home was in time for the force out for the first out. Michelle Beall stepped up and ripped a double to left center, scoring Nichole Beall and Cunningham. Madden made it 3-0 when she drove home Keefe with a sacrifice fly to left center.
Michelle Beall led off the fourth with a triple to right and scored on a Morgan Eye single. Eye scored on a double by Hannah Ojeda to left field for a 5-0 lead.
That was all Radford pitcher Stephanie Dameron needed as she recorded the team's second straight shutout of the Eagles and third straight shutout in conference play. Dameron allowed just four hits and had no walks and five strikeouts as she is now 12-4 on the year as it was her second shutout of the season.
It was the third and fourth straight regular season conference games that Radford held the Eagles offense to no runs. Winthrop has totaled 13 hits in the last four regular season games.
Winthrop's best chance to get on the board in the first game came in the second inning when Kelly Blea reached on an error by Shifflett at short and Veronia Berrie, who reached on a single, moved over to third. That brought up freshman Alex White for her first collegiate at-bat, but Dameron got her to pop out to second on a 1-2 pitch.
Winthrop has now allowed 32 runs on 38 hits in the last five games. On the other hand, Winthrop has five runs on 22 hits over that span.
Radford earned the series sweep and the Eagles were shutout in all three games of the series for the first time since the conference expanded to three-game series in 2007. It's the most shutouts the Eagles have suffered in league play since the 2003 season when they were shutout four times. It's the second time Winthrop has been shutout in three consecutive games this season.
Winthrop will be out of action until Sunday, May 8 when it heads to Charlotte, NC to take on Charlotte in a double-header at 3 p.m.
