CHARLESTON S.C. – Senior first baseman Alex Gregory's (Great Falls, Va./Paul VI) 4-for-5 day with a home run and three driven in lifted Radford to a 13-7 win over Charleston Southern in the first game of a Big South baseball series at Buccaneer Ballpark Friday afternoon.

Gregory led the Highlanders (20-15, 11-6 Big South) to their fourth straight Big South win by reaching base five times, with four hits and a walk, to go along with four runs. His RBI single up the middle in the top of the first inning gave Radford a 2-0 lead and his two-run homer to straight-away center field in the seventh put the Highlanders ahead 13-1.

The blast was Gregory's team-leading fifth of the season.

Junior right fielder Reggie Keen (Danville, Va./GW-Danville) went 3-for-6 with a pair of runs and three driven in, and senior third baseman Nick Minter (Virginia Beach, Va./Salem) was 3-for-5 with two runs. Senior designated hitter Will Naylor (Clifton, Va./Paul VI) drove in three runs, including two on bases-loaded walks.

Keen ran his hitting streak to eight games, going 17-of-36 (.472) over that stretch.

Junior right-hander Aerik Taylor (Williamsport, Md./Williamsport) posted his fourth quality start in a row, allowing no earned runs on five hits over six innings, earning the win (5-3).

The Buccaneers (13-29, 8-12) got a trio of three-hit days, including a pair of 3-for-3 performances off the bench from Derek Smith and Bentley Christmas. Smith added two RBI to his afternoon's work. Center fielder Tom Burkett added a 3-for-3 day with an RBI.

Charleston Southern sent 14 different hitters to the plate, and used six pitchers.

Righty Anthony Markham took the loss (2-5), allowing eight runs in four-plus innings.

The Highlanders scored three runs in the first inning, and led 13-1 heading into the bottom of the seventh inning. After junior center fielder Tyren Rivers (Suffolk, Va./Nansemond River) singled on the infield to lead off the game, stole second and advanced to third on a throwing error, Keen brought him in to put Radford on the board.   Two batters later, Gregory singled in Keen to make it 2-0.  

A series of three straight walks at the bottom of the order in the first gave Radford a 3-0 lead, as Gregory came home when Naylor walked with the bases loaded.

After Burkett doubled in designated hitter Scotty Radabaugh in the first to put Charleston Southern on the board, Radford scored 10 unanswered, opening up the game with a six-run fifth. 

Freshman shortstop Jeff Kemp (Bowie, Md./Archbishop Spalding) led off the inning with a homer to left field, beginning a string that saw six straight Radford hitters reach base, including four straight hits following the Kemp home run. Keen struck the inning's big blow with a two-out, two-run double to left, giving Radford a 9-1 lead.

Charleston Southern scored six runs late, including four in the seventh on a pair of two-run blasts. Ben Stechschulte hit a pinch-hit two-run shot to make it 13-3, then two batters later, right fielder Tyler Thornburg lifted a two-run homer to left, cutting the lead to 13-5. CSU got two more in the eighth to trim the Radford lead in half, 13-7.

The series concludes tomorrow with a pair of games, beginning at 11:30 a.m.