RADFORD, Va. – A four-run fourth inning and a three-run fifth fueled Radford's 7-5 win over Winthrop in the second game of a Big South baseball series on Saturday at Radford University Baseball Field.

Trailing 1-0 in the fourth, the Highlanders (9-10, 3-3 Big South) broke open the four-run frame by getting the first three men on, doing the damage with two outs, and using the benefit of a pair of Winthrop errors. Freshman second baseman Brett Mollenhauer (Roanoke, Va./Hidden Valley) reached on an error at second base to start the home half, classmate and shortstop Jeff Kemp (Bowie, Md./Archbishop Spalding) singled to move Mollenhauer over, and senior first baseman Alex Gregory (Great Falls, Va./Paul VI) drew a walk to load the bases.

Winthrop right-hander Matteo D'Angelo struck out the next two Highlanders, but senior left fielder Mario Duarte (Tampa, Fla./Gaither) was hit by pitch with two away to bring home Mollenhauer, tying the game at 1-1. An error at short brought home both Kemp and Gregory to give Radford a two-run lead, then junior center fielder Tyren Rivers (Suffolk, Va./Nansemond River) capped the inning with an RBI single to center, bringing in Duarte and giving the Highlanders a 4-1 advantage.

In the bottom of the fifth, Radford added three more to grab a 7-1 lead. After Mollenhauer doubled to lead off the inning, Kemp stroked a first-pitch RBI triple to the right field fence to make it a 5-1 game. Gregory drove the next pitch over the center fielder's head to bring in Kemp, and two batters later, senior third baseman Nick Minter's (Virginia Beach, Va./Salem) fielder's choice groundout scored Gregory to give Radford a 7-1 lead. 

Radford plated seven unanswered runs after Winthrop jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the first on first baseman Eddie Tisdale's two-out single to left field.   After breaking through in the first, Winthrop's bats went silent, as sophomore righty Shane Pysh (Wheeling, W.Va./John Marshall) tossed four scoreless frames, while getting the mid-game run support from his offense.

Pysh won his second start in a row (2-1), allowing two earned runs on seven hits over 6 1/3 innings, while fanning a career-high seven Winthrop hitters.

Trailing 7-3 in the ninth, the Eagles made a run at Radford when two of the first three hitters reached, coming to the plate on shortstop Kevin Nolan's two-out single to right field, cutting the lead to two. Freshman right-hander Jason Patten retired designated hitter Eddie Rohan, who represented the tying run, on a looking strikeout to end the threat and the game. 

Kemp and junior right fielder Reggie Keen (Danville, Va./G.W.-Danville) led Radford at the plate with 2-for-4 afternoons. Mollenhauer, Kemp and Gregory scored two runs each in the two, three and cleanup spots in the lineup. 

For Winthrop, Nolan and third baseman Bryn Henderson had two hits each, and Tisdale led the Eagles with his two RBI.

D'Angelo was two outs away from going the distance in the loss (2-1), allowing three earned on nine hits, striking out three over 7 1/3 frames.

The rubber game is set for 1 p.m. on Sunday.