March 23, 2003
Marietta, Ga. - Freshman Bailey Rolfs first collegiate hit couldn't have come at a better time. Rolfs, who prior to this weekend's games had been sidelined since the Bama Bash (Feb. 14-16), smoked a two-run double to give junior Allison Silver all the run support she would need in WKU's 5-1 win over Radford.
The Hilltoppers (15-14) closed out their stay at Georgia Tech's Buzz Classic with a 5-1 victory over the Highlanders to up their record to 2-2 during the event. Sophomore Dana Rey was named to the Buzz Classic's all-tournament team after hitting .500 (6-12) with nine RBI and three home runs over WKU's four games.
Western Kentucky loaded the bases in the top of the second as Rey, freshman Natasha Sevco and junior Samantha Hansen reached base on a walk and two singles, respectively. Rolfs came up next and proceeded to pick up the first hit of her collegiate career, a two-run double to put the Toppers ahead 2-0. Freshman Jennifer Ballance scored shortly afterwards to make it 3-0 through two innings.
The Highlanders cut their deficit to two runs in the bottom of the second when Glynn Tolleson scored on a double steal. Radford threatened to even things up in the bottom of the fourth, putting runners on second and third with just one out. However, Silver buckled down and escaped the jam by getting the next two batters to ground out and strike out, respectively. Silver stayed out of trouble for the rest of the game to pick up her seventh win of the season. WKU's co-captain scattered six hits and struck out five over seven innings of work.
WKU tacked on two more runs in the top of the seventh, one run coming off an RBI double from Hansen, to push their lead to 5-1. The Hilltoppers return to action on Wednesday when they travel to Macon, Ga. to play a doubleheader with Mercer.
- WKU -
