So Amazing!
How often do you get to say that you got to watch your niece play her favorite sport on ESPN? Okay, it was actually ESPN+, but I think that is a distinction without a difference or however the saying goes. This past weekend the Radford University Highlanders headed to Lynchburg, Virginia to play a five game invitational at Liberty University. This is one of the spots we got to see her play in the Fall, and I think they play there quite often for a handful of reasons.
First off, it's pretty close to Radford only being about two hours away or so. The other key point is that two members of the Liberty coaching staff are daughters of the Radford head coach. So there is that connection as well. While all the teams at this invitational are division I universities, there is a distinct difference given the fact that most of the other schools were from "power conferences".
Despite that, Radford had an amazing showing on the weekend.
They opened things up with a shut out victory over Liberty University 3 to 0. That's no small task, in fact, the commentators kept talking about how Liberty hasn't been shut out since something like 2024. This was a huge deal, especially coming from a Radford team they handily defeated in the Fall.
Unfortunately, in the second game, they suffered a walk off loss 5 to 4. It was a really good game and Radford was in the lead most of the game, but things just went off the rails towards the end and Liberty was able to snatch the win away from them. It happens, and the point to remember is that Liberty is a good team, so they shouldn't feel bad about this loss at all.
Saturday, they took on Marshall (as in "We are Marshall"). Again, this was a really close game that Radford Led 1 to 0 for most of the game. Unfortunately, towards the end, the starting pitcher ran out of gas and Marshall was able to tie the game up in the sixth inning 1 to 1. Radford wasn't able to get an insurance run in the top of the 7th, and then Marshall got the walk off in the bottom of the 7th to win the game. Again, despite the loss, this was a really good showing for the Highlanders.
Later that night they had another game against a team from the Big East. I was a little worried about their game against the University of Connecticut, but being honest, the Big East isn't really well known for being a softball conference. The Highlanders easily defeated the Huskies 5 to 2 in a great game with some amazing pitching and some good hitting.
Then, the next day they followed it up with another victory over UConn 5 to 1. It's not much to be sad about if you are a Radford fan. The only thing I wish would have been different is I wish my niece had gotten more time on the field, but I know that comes with time. Radford has their home opener today with a game against Virginia at 2 PM. This game is going to be broadcast on ESPN+ again, so I am definitely going to be watching it!
Meanwhile, the Tiffin Dragons are down in Melbourne, Florida at the USSSA Space Coast Invitational. The Dragons got their week off to a good start yesterday with wins over West Virginia Wesleyan College 8 to 0 and Davenport University 4 to 2. Today they face St. Cloud State University and University of Charleston before heading to Saint Leo, Florida on Thursday to play a double header against Saint Leo University.
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That's pretty wild dude. I bet that was fun to see. Nothing wrong with +.... at least it wasn't on "the ocho" ... I hear "walk off loss" frequently when talking to people about baseball and I just pretend to know what they mean. Can you explain what that means to me?
Yes, I think we are going to get to see a lot of her on TV this year. It's pretty fun to watch her. So in baseball there are nine innings, in softball there are seven innings. The home team always bats last, so let's say the away team is up 4 to 2 going into the bottom of the seventh or ninth inning. If the home team gets three more runs the game is over even if they still have zero outs. They literally walk off the field because there isn't going to be an extra inning without a tie. Sometimes it happens as a home run so you get a walk off home run, and other times they just play small ball and score the runs they need to walk off. I hope that helps.
ah ok, that makes sense. No reason to play anymore so let's walk away. thanks
I don't really think the coaches had a choice. The official shut it all down. It was crazy.
That is very cool. In SA we have many of the school rugby matches screened live so parents that work can watch their kids playing and not miss out. This has taken off and family members all around the world and school old boys are also subscribing so as not to miss out. Millions of viewers are tuning into the channels each weekend and it is something that no one would have thought would be that popular. School sports is now generating millions in revenue and sponsors have come flooding in due to the popularity.
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Wow, that is pretty crazy. We started streaming our sports when Covid hit after they started opening things up a bit, but I wouldn't say it is getting worldwide traction.