BOX SCORE

ELON, N.C. – Jason Patten's (Davidsonville, Md./Archbishop Spalding) two-inning save highlighted four shutout innings from three Radford relievers, lifting the Highlanders to a 4-2 win over Bucknell on Saturday night at the Elon Invitational.

 

Patten earned his first save of the season by recording the final six outs for Radford (3-5), striking out three while allowing two hits and helping the Highlanders win two straight for the first time this season.

 

Bucknell (4-5), which had a four-game winning streak snapped, had nine hits but stranded 10 runners.

 

Patten and right-handers Brad Wimmer (Vienna, Va./James Madison H.S.) and Derrick Brewer (Montpelier, Va./Patrick Henry-Ashland) kept the Bison off the board for the final four innings and helped freshman starter Eddie Butler (Chesapeake, Va./Greenbrier Christian) earn his second win of the season (2-0). Butler, who won his second collegiate start, struck out six over five innings while allowing two runs on six hits.

"We pitched extremely well tonight," head coach Joe Raccuia said.  "Eddie Butler was solid, but not great, and he kept us in this game.  Our bullpen though, was outstanding.  Brad Wimmer got his ground balls when he needed to, Derrick Brewer pitched himself out of a jam, and Jason Patten finished it off."

"This is what we're going to need to rely on all year," Patten said.  "Obviously our starters will continue to do what they have, but at the end of the day, it's up to us in the bullpen to finish it off."

 

The save for Patten, Radford's all-time single-season saves leader with nine in 2009, was the 10th of his career, making him one of four Highlander pitchers to save 10 or more career games.

"I felt good tonight," Patten said.  "I haven't really been out there much this year, and when he [Raccuia] told me that I was going to finish out the game, I knew I had to be on my game because of how many lefties they had in the order."

"After we used the bullpen the way we did Friday night, we had to extend Jason, and his performance really speaks for itself," Raccuia said. "He locates, he competes, and he's aggressive."

 

Radford needed just five hits to score its four runs, getting on the board with Matt Mack's (Davidsonvile, Md./St. John's College H.S.) solo home run in the second inning, the first of his career. The Highlanders added two more in the third, taking a 3-0 lead on Brett Mollenhauer's (Roanoke, Va./Hidden Valley) sacrifice bunt RBI and Reggie Keen's (Danville, Va./G.W.-Danville)  run-scoring double.

 

In the ninth inning, the Highlanders got insurance on Jeff Kemp's (Bowie, Md./Archbishop Spalding) single to right field that scored Keen and gave them a 4-2 advantage.

 
"We got some timely hitting from some good players," Raccuia said.  "Your best players need to produce in RBI situations to be good, and it's happening right now for us."

Both of Bucknell's runs came in the bottom half of the third. Ben Allen scored on B.J. LaRosa's RBI ground out and Ben Yoder came home from second on a pair of wild pitches, cutting Radford's lead to 3-2.

 

Dylan Seeley took the loss after a quality start (1-2), striking out five and allowing three runs on four hits in seven innings.

 

Radford finishes play in the Elon Invitational on Sunday afternoon, facing the host Phoenix at 4 p.m.