UNC ASHEVILLE (4-8, L5) at RADFORD (7-7, W4)

Friday, March 19 – 3 p.m | Live Stats
RHP Aerik Taylor (1-0, 4.22 ERA) vs. RHP Ryan Dull (2-0, 5.62 ERA)
Saturday, March 20 – 2 p.m. | Live Stats
RHP Eddie Butler (2-0, 4.03 ERA) vs. RHP Taylor Wohlwend (1-2, 2.70 ERA)
Sunday, March 21 – 1 p.m. | Live Stats
RHP Bobby Bolling (0-0, 4.95 ERA) vs. RHP Justin Schumer (1-1, 8.64 ERA)

Radford opens Big South conference play this weekend and continues a stretch of five consecutive home weekends, welcoming UNC Asheville in for a three-game series beginning on Friday afternoon.

Six Big South teams open league play this weekend, including the Bulldogs and Highlanders.  Radford is coming off a 16-9 conference record a year ago, the second-most wins and third-best league winning percentage (.640) in program history and good for fourth place in the regular season standings.  This season, the Highlanders were picked again to finish fourth in both the Big South coaches' preseason poll as well as major national publications.

UNC Asheville, under the guidance of first-year head coach Tom Smith, is trying to rebound from a last place finish in 2009.  The Bulldogs were picked to finish last in this year's Big South preseason poll.   After winning nine games all of last season, Asheville already has four wins in 12 games this season.

Over the last 10 games, the Highlanders have brought their record back to .500 on the season by playing their best baseball of the season.  Radford is 7-3 over that 10-game stretch entering the weekend by outscoring its opponents 60-50, stealing 41 bases, and posting a 4.63 team ERA.  In this recent 10-game stretch, Raphael Turner is leading the Highlanders with a .370 average, Matt Mack has a pair of home runs, Reggie Keen has 10 steals on 11 chances, and Radford's weekend starting pitchers (Aerik Taylor, Eddie Butler, Bobby Bolling) have a 3.15 ERA.

After a 4-4 start to the season, Asheville has stumbled of late by losing five straight.   Through 13 games this season, Ian Graham's .356 average leads the Bulldogs, while Danny Baatz has two homers and 12 RBIs.  Righty Taylor Wohlwend has anchored the starting staff for Asheville, posting a 2.70 ERA in three starts with 21 strikeouts in 20 innings of work.

Last April, Radford swept a three-game set at UNC Asheville.   Entering the weekend, Radford trails the all-time series 21-35.

WEEKEND NOTEBOOK

•    In last year's series against UNC Asheville, Reggie Keen was 8-for-16 with three RBIs and three stolen bases
•    Aerik Taylor tossed seven innings in the Friday game against Asheville to pick up a win last season, while Abram Williams fired eight shutout innings on Sunday
•    With its sweep last weekend of Rider, Radford started its home season 3-0 and improved to 18-5 in the last 23 games played at home, dating back to the start of last season (streak does not include home games played in Salem, Pulaski or Blacksburg)
•    The Highlanders have swept three of their last four weekend home sets, dating back to last year's sweep of VMI (April 17-19)
•    Starting pitching led the Highlanders to a sweep, with Taylor (Saturday), Eddie Butler and Bobby Bolling (Sunday) combining to allow just three runs in 19 combined innings of work (1.42 ERA)
•    The three starters each turned in quality starts, and allowed a total of 11 hits combined
•    With the pair of walk-off wins last Sunday, Radford has three final at-bat wins in its seven total victories this season
•    Raphael Turner's eighth-inning single against North Carolina A&T on Wednesday extended his hitting streak to five games (8-for-18)
•    Following eight stolen bases on Wednesday, the Highlanders have 48 steals this season, an average of 3.4 per game
•    If Radford plays each of its remaining 41 games, the team is on pace for 189 steals, which would shatter the previous school record of 112 in 1994