May 13, 2005. A day that Breanna Felix would love to forget in a slew of mostly positive memories that the junior has pieced together as a pitcher for the Radford University Women's Softball team over the past three seasons.
It was Game Seven of the Big South Championship last season and Felix was on the hill as the starter for the Lady Highlanders who entered the contest with a record of 39-24, the most wins for a Radford softball team in the history of the program. If Radford fell to the Lady Chanticleers, they would be done for the season.
Sadly for Felix and the Lady Highlanders, that was the case. The starter gave up six runs on 10 hits despite striking out five batters and only walking two in 5.2 innings. Felix's pitching partner this season, then-freshman Ashley Taylor, came in and tossed 1.1 innings of relief to stop the Lady Chants from plating any more runs but it was too late. Second-seeded Radford fell to fourth-seeded Coastal Carolina, 6-3, and was forced to head home after a season of so many positives.
Radford is in a similar situation this season, having won 37 games so far to post a record of 37-20 overall with a 9-3 spot in Big South competition.
But the season record is not the only major positive for the Lady Highlanders this season. Radford will be the host of the Big South Championships which start May 11 and the Lady Highs recorded their first perfect home regular season record in school history with a mark of 14-0. The homefield advantage could play a huge roll in the success of the team in the playoffs to go along with Radford earning the league's second seed.
On the field, Radford appears to be ready to make strides in the playoffs. Felix went 16-11 on the season and dominated her opponents most of the time. Of her 11 losses, six of them were losses of one run. In four of her losses, the Lady Highlanders failed to plate a run of support.
At one point during the season, Felix put together a string of three starts where she allowed four runs, two of them earned on only nine hits in 21.1 innings but during that time, the Radford offense scored only one run on a total of eight hits in 24 innings.
Despite the losses, the junior set new Radford records this season with the most career strikeouts and wins. The victory that gave her the wins mark came at home against Mountaineers of Appalachian State when she surpassed Sheree Fletcher by pitching a four-hitter, striking out 12 batters and refusing to yield a walk. The California-born pitcher picked up two Big South Pitcher of the Week awards during the season.
Felix's counterpart, sophomore Ashley Taylor, has also made strong appearances on the field this season. Taylor collected four Big South Pitcher of the Week awards and posted a record of 17-8 on the season. One of her more memorable starts this season was a recent no-hitter against the Lady Flames of Liberty University back on April 26. Taylor struck out 10 batters in the victory.
As a duo, Felix and Taylor have led Radford admirably. The Lady Highlanders swept the Lady Eagles of Winthrop in a two-game series on April 2 behind shutouts by Felix and Taylor. The shutouts gave Radford its 13th and 14th shutouts of the season, a new school record.
Achievements or not, Radford's record is now 0-0 as are the records of its other Big South rivals. However, there are plenty of reasons to picture a deep run by the Lady Highlanders. Felix and Taylor have arguably been the best one-two punch that the Big South has to offer and Radford has been unstoppable at home. It would be a serious change from the norm to see a breakdown by the two Radford aces.
The only concern that a Radford fan should have is the Highlander bats not showing up in key moments. The one-run losses that Felix suffered this season and shutout losses that she suffered through are concerning.
Besides that, Radford is poised to make a serious run this season once again. Those still in the area should come out to Dedmon Center Field and support the Lady Highlanders at this big event.
(Photos taken by Blake Fought - April 18, 2006)
