Box Score

LYNCHBURG, Va. – Radford rallied with three runs in the ninth inning, cutting the Liberty lead to one, but the Flames held on for a 9-8 win in the first game of a Big South baseball series at Worthington Stadium Thursday afternoon.

Thursday's game was marked by six total home runs, with three by each team.

After juniors Rick Hoogstraten (Poquoson, Va/Poquoson) and Raphael Turner (Washington, D.C./Woodrow Wilson) reached to begin the ninth with Liberty leading 9-5, freshman shortstop Jeff Kemp (Bowie, Md./Archbishop Spalding) delivered a three-run homer to straight-away center two batters later, a two-out swing to make it a 9-8 game. Right-hander Andrew Wilson shut the door by striking out senior first baseman Alex Gregory (Great Falls, Va./Paul VI), earning the save (6) and giving the Flames (31-17, 17-7 Big South) the victory.

Kemp led the Highlanders (23-22, 14-9), going 2-for-5 at the plate and scoring a pair of runs. He was one of three Radford hitters with two hits, including junior right fielder Reggie Keen (Danville, Va./G.W.-Danville) and senior third baseman Nick Minter (Virginia Beach, Va./Salem).

Center fielder Curran Redal was 3-for-5 for Liberty with a run and an RBI, and left fielder Jeff Jefferson drove in three while hitting a pair of solo homers.

Left-hander Shawn Teufel tossed 5 2/3 innings for the Flames, allowing three runs on six hits with three strikeouts to earn the win (8-2). Radford junior righty Aerik Taylor (Williamsport, Md./Williamsport) lasted 4 2/3 innings in the loss (5-4), giving up six runs on 11 hits.

The Flames went ahead to stay in the fourth inning, scoring four runs to take a 5-2 lead. Third baseman Kizuku Scott's RBI double to left with one out tied the game at 2-2, then two batters later third baseman P.J. Jimenez ripped a homer to left field to make it 4-2, Liberty.

In the sixth, the Flames added three more to grab a 9-4 lead.

Radford scored single runs in the third through sixth innings, and again in the eighth, highlighted by solo homers from Minter (fourth) and junior catcher Robert Lamas (Annandale, Va./Paul VI) in the eighth.

The series resumes tomorrow at 1 p.m.