RADFORD, Va. – Winners of three straight, and five of the last six games, Radford looks to continue its perfect April when it hosts East Tennessee State at Radford University Baseball Field on Wednesday at 3 p.m.

Live Stats

Probable Starting Pitchers:
Wednesday - LHP Paul DeVito (3-1, 9.49 ERA) vs. RHP Ben Andrews (1-2, 8.04 ERA)

Wednesday's matchup between the Highlanders and Buccaneers was originally scheduled for a Tuesday doubleheader.

Radford (13-11) plays its first non-conference game of the month following a weekend sweep of UNC Asheville, giving the Highlanders their third straight Big South conference series win.

On Friday, senior first baseman Alex Gregory went 3-for-4, scored three runs and hit his first home run of the season to lead the Highlanders to an 8-4 win at McCormick Field. Gregory scored in the fifth after ripping a triple off the center field wall, tying the game at 2-2, and came home on junior right fielder Reggie Keen's two-out RBI single in the seventh to give the Highlanders the go-ahead run. Then, in the ninth inning Gregory gave Radford insurance with a two-run blast over the scoreboard in right center field to make it a 5-2 lead and key a five-run ninth.

In Saturday's game at Greenwood Field, Radford opened up a seven-run advantage in the fourth inning and got a 3-for-4 day with three driven in fromGregory, rolling to an 18-9 win. With the score tied at 2-2 in the third inning, Radford took control with four runs to open up a 6-2 lead. Keen put the Highlanders up with a single through the right side to bring home freshman second baseman Brett Mollenhauer, who led off the inning with a triple to left center.   Two batters later, Gregory lifted a double to left field to score Mollenhauer and make it 4-2, then two-out RBIs from freshman left fielder Matt Hillsinger and junior center fielder Tyren Rivers capped the inning and gave Radford a four-run lead.

Sunday, redshirt freshman right-hander Abram Williams tossed eight scoreless frames, leading Radford to a 3-0 win. Williams (1-2) had the longest outing of his career to earn his first win as a starting pitcher. He scattered five hits over his eight frames, striking out three hitters. The Highlanders gave Williams all the run support he needed in the fifth inning, plating three runs, including a pair with two outs on Minter's single up the middle, bringing home junior right fielder Keen and Gregory to make it a 3-0 lead.

ETSU dropped a weekend Atlantic Sun Conference series at North Florida, salvaging the set with a 12-8 win on Sunday. The Bucs have dropped three of the last five, but picked up a win at home last Tuesday over Tennessee, 9-3. Other common opponents between Radford and ETSU include UNC Asheville (March 17 – 3-2 win) and Virginia Tech (March 24 – 7-3 win; March 25 – 10-2 loss).

Offensively, the Buccaneers have blasted 36 homers in 28 games, including eight from third baseman Bo Reeder and seven from left fielder Troy Mendez. Five regulars are hitting better than .300 for ETSU, led by second baseman Ben Allen's .355 average in 28 games. 

-        With the three game sweep of UNC Asheville, the Highlanders won three consecutive Big South series for the first time this decade.

-        Radford had not won all three from Asheville since 1995, nor beaten the Bulldogs in a conference set since 1997.

-        Alex Gregory hit his first two homers of the season in the series, and finished 6-for-10 over the three games with five RBI and eight runs scored. Gregory reached base at a .714 clip, drawing four free passes.

-        His 13-game hitting streak, a season-best among Radford hitters, was snapped on Sunday. Over the streak, Gregory was (27-of-47) at the plate with a .642 on-base percentage, .833 slugging percentage, 19 runs scored and 17 RBI.

-        In Big South games this season, Gregory is .556 at the plate with a .667 on-base clip.

-        Senior third baseman Ben Toth, seeing his first significant action of the season due to an injury, went 5-for-8 in the series.

-        Freshman shortstop Jeff Kemp has a .490 on-base mark in Big South games, drawing nine free passes against four strikeouts.

-        Reggie Keen, who entered the Presbyterian series hitting below .200, has hit in 11 straight games since the series opener against the Blue Hose to raise his batting average nearly 100 points. Over that stretch, Keen has 21 hits with 13 runs scored and 10 driven in. Last season, Keen hit in 19 straight games.