RADFORD, Va. – Following its second-straight Big South series win, Radford steps out of league play for a pair of non-conference games, highlighted by Tuesday's 6 p.m. meeting with No. 10/21 (College Baseball Newspaper/NCBWA) Virginia on Lewis-Gale Field at Salem Memorial Ballpark. The Highlanders also travel to Longwood for a 3 p.m. first pitch on Wednesday.

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Tuesday vs. Virginia: LHP Paul DeVito (3-0, ,6.56 ERA) vs. RHP Robert Poutier (1-0, 3.60)

Wednesday at Longwood: LHP Mark Beppler (0-1, 6.00) vs. RHP Chris Briere or RHP Troy Dickman

Tuesday's game marks the first appearance for the Highlanders at Salem Memorial Ballpark, home of the Carolina League's (A-Adv.) Salem Red Sox. Radford and Virginia will play the season's first game in the 14-year-old facility, which has been given a recent makeover in anticipation of the franchise's first season as a Boston Red Sox affiliate. 

Virginia last played at Salem Memorial Ballpark in the 2004 ACC Tournament.

On Tuesday, Radford wraps up a month of March that saw the Highlanders go 9-5 and play a sparse mid-week schedule (five games). The Highlanders have won their last two mid-week dates, a home-and-home series against 2008 CAA Champion James Madison (Home, March 18 – 7-4; Away, March 24 – 14-3).  

Closing the month will be a visit from the Cavaliers, which rank as high as No. 10 in the recent College Baseball Newspaper poll, and check in at No. 24 in the Baseball America poll. Virginia is 3-2 over its last five games, and is coming off a weekend ACC series at No. 5 North Carolina where the Tar Heels took two of three. 

Virginia, which boasts the fifth-highest winning percentage in the country (22-4, .846), is led at the plate by a pair of .400-plus hitters in right fielder Dan Grovatt (.424, 4 HR, 26 RBI) and center fielder Jared Parker (.402, 6 HR, 31 RBI). 

The Cavaliers, which lead the series 8-2, won an 8-2 decision in Charlottesville last March. Radford will travel to Davenport Field for an April 15 game.

Longwood enters the mid-week schedule off a Sunday split at future Radford foe Gardner-Webb (May 1-3). In the first game, the Runnin' Bulldogs rallied from down 6-1 to pick up a 10-9 win, but the Lancers won the nightcap, 8-4.

Through 24 games, left fielder David Smiy Jr. leads Longwood with a .435 average, while designated hitter Jonathan Quigley has five homers and 30 driven in. 

Radford swept the home-and-home from the Lancers last season, and the all-time series is tied at two. The Highlanders host the Lancers on April 14.

 

-          Radford won its second straight Big South regular season series against Winthrop over the weekend, and third out of the last four (2006, '08, '09) against the Eagles.

-          This weekend was also the first time the Highlanders won back-to-back three-game Big South sets since 2000.

-          The string of quality starts (6 IP, 3 ER or less) in wins continued Saturday (Shane Pysh – 6 1/3, 2 ER) and Sunday (Abram Williams - 7 IP, 1 ER). Radford, with six wins in the last eight games, has gotten quality starts from its starting pitchers in each of those wins.

-          Senior first baseman Alex Gregory went 5-for-11 over the weekend, lifting his season average to .425 and his on-base percentage to .533. 

-          Gregory extended his hitting streak to 10 games, the best for any Radford player this season. Over that stretch, Gregory is 20-for-36 at the plate (.556).

-          Senior designated hitter Will Naylor, junior right fielder Reggie Keen and freshman second baseman Brett Mollenhauer are in the midst of seven-game streaks.

-          Freshman RHP Jason Patten picked up his fourth save in the win on Sunday, and is just the fourth Radford pitcher this decade to post four or more stops.

Tuesday – Freshman LHP Paul DeVito (Annapolis, Md./Archbishop Spalding)

DeVito is the owner of back-to-back mid-week wins and consecutive quality starts heading into Tuesday's meeting with Virginia. Backing up Radford's 14-3 outburst  against JMU last Tuesday in Harrisonburg was DeVito's seven-inning performance. DeVito, who won his second straight start against JMU, allowed three runs on nine hits and fanned four in seven innings.

Wednesday – Senior LHP Mark Beppler (Chesapeake, Va./Hickory)

The senior southpaw gets the starting nod for the first time in 2009 on Wednesday, when he faces the Lancers. His last start came in the 2008 Big South tournament, with a no-decision against Winthrop. In April of 2008, Beppler earned his last win as a starter, going seven innings without allowing an earned run in Radford's 3-2 win over VMI. Beppler last appeared on Friday, allowing four earned runs on 12 hits in 4 1/3 innings of relief against Winthrop.