BASEBALL WELCOMES CORNELL FOR THREE-GAME WEEKEND SERIES

CORNELL at RADFORD
March 19-20 | RU Baseball Field
RU in 2011: 9-6 | Last 10: 6-4 | Streak: W3

All series games: Live Stats | Live Audio

Saturday (Game 1) March 19 | 1:00
RU RHP Eddie Butler vs. COR RHP Corey Pappel

Saturday (Game 2) March 19
RU RHP Mark Peterson vs. COR RHP Taylor Wood

Sunday, March 20 | 1:00
RU RHP Bobby Bolling vs. COR RHP Jadd Schmeltzer

Radford continues its six-game homestand this weekend when the Highlanders entertain Cornell in a three-game series, beginning with a doubleheader on Saturday afternoon.

Playing for the first time after an unscheduled five-day break, their longest of the year, the Highlanders are back in action and looking to extend a three-game winning streak. Radford was perfect at home last weekend, outscoring Hartford 41-9 in a three-game series sweep.

This weekend's series is the final one for the Highlanders before the expected completion of their new home. Radford is set to open the new-look ballpark in time for its next home series, April 8-10 against VMI.

It's also the final non-conference set of the season – Radford opens Big South play next weekend at Charleston Southern. Eight of the 10 league teams (minus Radford, Coastal Carolina) will open conference action on Friday.

For the Highlanders, Ivy League-member Cornell is a first-time opponent. The Big Red (1-6) will visit the Commonwealth for the second time this season – Cornell played two neutral site games against Rider and a pair against Virginia in Charlottesville March 4-6. This weekend's games are part of a 15-game season-opening road trip for the Big Red.

Cornell was the Ivy League's Gehrig Division Champion in 2010.

WEEKEND NOTEBOOK

• In the series against Hartford, the Highlanders outscored the Hawks, 41-9, and scored their most runs in a three-game series since plating 39 runs in three games at High Point last April (16-18)
• The 22 runs on Sunday were the most for the Highlanders since scoring 26 in the second game of a doubleheader against Canisius on March 7, 2009
• Radford has played 31 straight error-free innings entering the weekend
• The Highlanders lead the Big South with a .977 fielding percentage, committing just 13 errors all season
• Matt Hillsinger hit a pair of home runs last week -- a solo blast at N.C. State on Tuesday and a grand slam, the first of his career, against Hartford in the first game on Saturday
• Jeff Kemp had a breakout game in the finale against Hartford with 5 RBIs, going 4-for-4
• Zach Costello went 6-for-14 over the weekend to improve his batting average from .186 to .246 – he also drove in five runs and scored seven times
• Matt Mack's batting average also showed nearly a 60-point jump to .365 – Mack was 8-for-14 in the Hartford series
• Cory Turner continues to rank in the top ten in the Big South in batting average (.404), on-base percentage (.515) and slugging percentage (.558)
• The Highlanders had five triples in the three games of the Hartford series – they entered the weekend with none in 2011
• Bobby Bolling, who got four runs of support in his previous three starts, got 18 runs of support in Sunday's win over Hartford
• Bolling's 31 strikeouts lead the Big South entering the weekend
• Radford's weekend starters, Bolling, Eddie Butler and Mark Peterson have a combined ERA of 3.42 while opponents are hitting .225 off the group
• Peterson (24, 8th) and Bolling (23 2/3, 9th) rank among the league's top ten in innings pitched
• Two Highlanders made alternate position debuts in the Hartford series – Blake Sipe worked his first inning in the first game, while Derrick Brewer had his first at-bat in the third game
• The Highlanders will play 10 of their next 11 games on the road following this weekend

BASEBALL WELCOMES CORNELL FOR THREE-GAME WEEKEND SERIES

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