BUTLER NAMED PITCHER OF THE WEEK; BASEBALL TO PLAY MIDWEEK PAIR

Eddie Butler was named the Big South Pitcher of the Week for his performance on Friday for Radford, which looks to build on three straight wins when the Highlanders host Appalachian State on Tuesday before heading to Longwood on Wednesday.

Butler pitched the first complete game shutout in the Big South this season with his 5-0 victory at UNC Asheville on Friday. He allowed six hits (all singles) in going the distance for the second time in his career, while striking out five and walking just one to improve to 6-1, the best record for a pitcher in the Big South. Butler retired the side in order five times and set down nine of the first 10 batters he faced.

This is the second time Butler has earned Big South Pitcher of the Week honors – he nabbed the honor last May following his other career complete game against Presbyterian on May 8.

Radford looks to build on its second consecutive Big South series sweep this past weekend at UNC Asheville. The Highlanders have won eight games in a row in league play for the first time in program history following sweeps of Asheville and Winthrop, and winning the final two against VMI.

Tuesday will be the first meeting between Radford and Appalachian State since April 28, 2009, a 14-3 win for the Mountaineers at home. Appalachian (25-17) has a 10-5 series lead on the Highlanders. The Mountaineers bring an 8-2 mark in their last 10 games to Radford, with wins in four straight following a Southern Conference sweep of Davidson over the weekend.

Radford and Longwood will meet for the only time this season, after the first game in Radford scheduled for March was rained out. The two teams split the home-and-home series last year, with the Lancers leading the all-time series 11-7. Longwood (25-15) is 5-5 over its last 10 games and hosts the Highlanders following a weekend four-game series split with North Carolina A&T.

MIDWEEK NOTEBOOK
• Before winning the eighth straight Big South game this weekend, Radford's previous best stretches in the league were wins in seven of nine games during the 1997, 1999, 2009 and 2010 seasons
• Radford has won nine consecutive games against UNC Asheville, dating back to the 2009 season
• Radford is in third place in the Big South standings at 10-5, just a game behind league front-runner Coastal Carolina, and a half-game behind second-place Liberty
• The Highlanders had 46 hits in the series, a best for a three game set in 2011
• At no point has Radford had ten or more hits in three straight games this year
• Radford leads the Big South with a .318 team average in conference games
• Overall, the Highlanders are second in the league in both average (.301) and ERA (4.33)
• Matt Mack led the Highlanders at the plate with his 8-15 series, including four RBI
• Mack now leads the league with a .459 average in Big South games, and ranks second overall at .397
• Ryan Burgess was 5-12 in the series with five RBI – Burgess ranks third in conference-only batting average (.432)
• Burgess is the hottest hitter for Radford of late, carrying a 10-game hitting streak
• With 17 games remaining, the Highlanders need just seven wins to establish a new program single-season wins total
• The 1995 Radford team won 30 games, setting the current standard
• Following Wednesday's game, the Highlanders will host Gardner-Webb in a three-game Big South series beginning Friday
• Right-hander Jake Palese will make his first career start on Tuesday – Palese (0-0, 0.71) has only allowed one run in seven relief appearances this season

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