BLACKSBURG, Va. – Five Virginia Tech pitchers yielded two earned runs in nine innings to silence the Radford bats and win a non-conference baseball game 10-4 at English Field Wednesday night.

The five hurlers for the Hokies (27-17) combined to allow nine hits and register nine strikeouts with no walks against the Highlanders (20-19), who fell for the second time to Virginia Tech this season and the fifth time in six straight games away from home.

Right-hander Rhett Ballard, a conference starter for the Hokies, picked up the win in a scheduled short start (6-3), going two innings and striking out six. Righty Clark Labitan, who tossed two scoreless frames in relief against Radford March 10, twirled four innings to lead the Hokies, giving up an earned run on four hits with three strikeouts.

First baseman Austin Wates and center fielder Steve Bumbry each had three hits and two driven in for the Hokies.   Left fielder Klint Reed and designated hitter Luke Padgett added multi-hit efforts as well, and Reed crossed the plate three times in the leadoff spot.

Senior first baseman Alex Gregory (Great Falls, Va./Paul VI) led the Highlanders with a 3-for-4 effort, including his sixth homer of the season. Freshman shortstop Jeff Kemp (Bowie, Md./Archbishop Spalding) went 2-for-4 and drove in a run, and junior Rick Hoogstraten (Poquoson, Va./Poquoson) was 2-for-2 off the bench with an RBI.

Senior righty Josh Hammonds (Herndon, Va./Herndon) suffered the loss (2-2), allowing four earned runs in two innings. Hammonds was replaced by senior lefty Mark Beppler (Chesapeake, Va./Hickory), who finished out the game for Radford.

Virginia Tech scored two runs in the first to take an early lead, as the first three men reached base, and Wates delivered an RBI single to get the Hokies on the board with no one out. Catcher Anthony Sosnoskie's sacrifice fly scored right fielder Mike Kaminski to make it 2-0. 

Radford got one back in the top of the second on Gregory's home run, an opposite field leadoff blast that dropped inside the right field foul pole, making the score 2-1.

The Hokies got all they needed in the home half of the second, putting the first three on again, as Reed started the scoring with a single to right to plate Padgett and make it 3-1. Two batters later, Wates' sac fly to center brought in Reed and extended the lead to 5-1.

Virginia Tech added runs in the sixth, seventh and eighth.

With the score 8-2 in the eighth, Radford brought in a pair to cut the lead in half on a throwing error at short with two away that allowed junior right fielder Reggie Keen (Danville, Va./G.W.-Danville) to score and make the score 8-3. Two batters later, Hoogstraten's RBI single to center scored Gregory and made it 8-4.

The Highlanders host Gardner-Webb in a Big South series beginning Friday at Radford University Baseball Field.