BOX SCORE

HIGH POINT, N.C. – Radford scored three runs in the ninth inning and Jason Patten struck out High Point's Nate Roberts with the bases loaded in the bottom half to give the Highlanders an 18-17 win and a Big South series victory on Sunday.

The three-run ninth made it 10 runs for Radford (17-17, 6-6 Big South) in the final three innings, capping a comeback from a 10-2 second inning deficit.  Trailing 17-15 after a four-run eighth for the Panthers (18-20, 5-10), a two-run Reggie Keen homer to left field with one out tied the game at 17-17.  Matt Hillsinger singled on the next play and stole second before Alex Guerra brought him home on a double to the right field corner, giving the Highlanders the 18-17 lead.

In the bottom of the ninth, Patten got the first two hitters in order before Sal Pezzino's single and back-to-back errors loaded the bases for Roberts, who had five hits and four RBIs in his five previous plate appearances.   Patten got Roberts looking on a 1-2 inside pitch to end the game.

“I wasn't nervous in the ninth,” head coach Joe Raccuia said.  “It wasn't a game where you could be.  Things that happened just happened, and there became a point where there was no way that the game could be managed.

“All it takes is a look at the box score to see how much happened and how little we could control.”

Patten, who surrendered four runs in the eighth inning when he was summoned to try and get a two-inning save, rebounded with the scoreless ninth to earn his third win of the season (3-2).

“He battled back after an eighth inning where he was knocked around on the infield, and got who I deem to be the best hitter in the Big South right now,” Raccuia said.  “Roberts is electric as a hitter and Patten got it done.”

Mikel Rodenberg, who allowed all three ninth inning runs, was charged with the loss (1-2).

The Highlanders had multiple runs in four innings, including the last three, while High Point had four multi-run innings as well.  Of Radford's 17 RBIs, 15 came from hitters two-through-five in the order, led by Guerra's 4-for-4 afternoon with five RBIs.   Raphael Turner was 2-for-4 with four driven, including a two-run single in the eighth that gave Radford a 15-13 lead.  Hillsinger went 2-for-3 with three RBIs, two walks and a two-run homer in a five-run fifth inning.  Keen had hits in his last four trips to the plate, finishing 4-for-6.  Rivers went 4-for-5 and scored five runs, reaching as the leadoff man in four innings.

“After today's game, and this series, it looks like we have ourselves a lineup that can go and win some baseball games,” Raccuia said.  “That's why I haven't had a strict lineup.  But now these guys are doing what they're supposed to do.”

Roberts, despite the strikeout, was 5-for-6 on Sunday, including his 13th home run of the season in the first inning, a two-run blast.  Roberts went 8-for-13 in the series with two homers and seven RBIs.

High Point hit five blasts, including four in the first two innings, Pablo Rosario led off the bottom of the first with a solo shot, his third of the season.  In the second inning, Murray White IV hit a two-run homer and Matt Gantner added a three-run blast later.  Both White and Gantner connected on their sixth home runs of the season in a seven-run inning.

In addition to homers from Keen and Hillsinger, their second blasts of the season, Andrew Cook hit his second of the year, a two-run shot in the three-run Radford seventh.

The Highlanders return home for a pair of midweek games, hosting No. 20 Virginia Tech on Tuesday at 3:30 p.m.