ROCK HILL, N.C. – Despite a pair of Amber Schisler home runs, Campbell was unable to overcome a five-run fourth by Radford as the Fighting Camels fell 8-4 Friday evening at Terry Field.
Schisler went 2-for-3 with four RBIs and two home runs in her first two at bats. Radford's Kayla Bishton hit a grand slam in the bottom of fourth inning to take the lead for good for the No. 4 seed.
These two teams will square off in Saturday's second elimination game, scheduled for 12:30 p.m. Campbell falls to 27-30 and Radford improves to 35-25 on the season.
Campbell got the scoring started early against the Highlanders, as Schisler launched a three-run home run over the centerfield wall during the top of the first inning. Katie Baker and Rachel McCollum also scored on the homer as they both drew a walk in their respective at bats.
Schisler's second home run of the contest came in her next at-bat. With two outs on the board, the McNeese State transfer launched the first pitch she saw over the Terry Field scoreboard to increase the Campbell lead to 4-0.
As quickly as Campbell took its four-run advantage, Radford took its first lead of the contest in the bottom of the fourth inning. A couple of hits and a pair of errors loaded the bases for Radford in the bottom of the fourth inning, putting the Highlanders within two runs. With two outs and bases still loaded, Kayla Bishton took the 2-2 pitch from Baker over the right field wall to give Radford a 6-4 lead.
Schisler entered the circle in the bottom of the fifth, in relief of Baker. With runners on the corners, Alex Lang hit a long ball to deep center that was snagged by Taesha DuBoise against the wall. The runner scored from third on the play to take a 7-4 lead, but DuBoise limited the scoring with her strong catch at the wall. Radford's eighth run came in the bottom of the sixth on a Campbell throwing error.
Baker falls to 11-12 on the season, as she pitched 4 1/3 innings, striking out seven batters and allowing six runs. Kayla Huffman improves to 7-4 on the season in four innings of work with two strikeouts.
With the loss, Campbell will face Radford Saturday at 12:30 p.m. in an elimination game. The winner of that contest will make it to the "Winner Take All" Championship game at 3 p.m. at Terry Field. The game will be broadcasted on ESPN3 and live audio on GoCamels.com with the voice of the Fighting Camels, Chris Hemeyer.
