BOX SCORE

RADFORD, Va. – Radford scored five runs in the eighth inning, fueled by Alex Guerra's (Wantagh, N.Y./Wantagh)  go-ahead two-run homer, on the way to a 7-3 win and a Big South series sweep over Presbyterian College on Sunday afternoon.

The Highlanders (26-20, 12-8 Big South) trailed 3-2 heading to the eighth.  Reggie Keen reached on an error to lead off the inning before Guerra hit a 3-2 pitch over the fence in right field to give Radford a 4-3 lead and spark the big inning.

Guerra, who hit his fifth home run of the season, went 2-for-2, including a walk and a sacrifice fly that brought Keen home in the sixth inning, cutting Presbyterian's lead in half at 2-1.  

“Sweeping is never easy,” head coach Joe Raccuia said.  “We had timely hits after Guerra made them hurt with the home run, allowing us to save our closer [Jason Patten].

“But it's never an easy task, no matter who you play, and I'm proud of our guys for getting all three this weekend.”  

Radford had 12 hits on the way to its second Big South series sweep of the season.  Tyren Rivers went 2-for-5 with two RBIs on a two-run single that extended the eighth.  Matt Mack went 2-for-4 and added an RBI triple that tied the game at 2-2 in the sixth inning.  Keen went 0-for-2 and walked twice while scoring a pair of runs.

Bobby Bolling, who allowed one earned run on four hits in seven innings, and Abram Williams, who struck out a pair in two scoreless innings, combined to allow just five hits by the Blue Hose (12-33, 4-17) for the second straight game.   Williams picked up his third win (3-1) of the season.

“Thankfully, Bolling threw well enough to keep us in the game and throw zeroes, because we were really struggling early on,” Raccuia said.  

“We had runners on first and second twice with nobody out, a man on third with two outs, and multiple opportunities to hit a ground ball or sac fly and just do something.  But I'm glad we got it done late in the game.”  

Presbyterian jumped on Radford, capitalizing on three first-inning errors to take a 2-0 lead.   After a misplay allowed Mack Hite to reach, he later scored on a two-error play to give the Blue Hose a 1-0 lead.   Kenny Bryant scored on Nate Horton's RBI groundout to make it a 2-0 lead for Presbyterian.

The Highlanders put a pair on the board in the bottom of the sixth, thanks to Guerra and Mack, but Presbyterian answered with a seventh-inning run when the first two hitters reached and Hite brought Aaron Preston to the plate on his groundout to second, giving the Blue Hose a 3-2 lead.

Rodney Scruggs, who was tagged for four runs, one earned, on four hits over two innings, took the loss (0-1).

Radford resumes midweek play on Tuesday, heading to Longwood for a 6 p.m. affair.