BOX SCORE

LYNCHBURG, Va. - Liberty needed just a pair of first inning runs for a series-closing 3-1 win over Radford on Saturday afternoon.

The Highlanders (30-22, 14-13 Big South) will be the No. 6 seed in the 2011 Royal Purple Big South Conference Baseball Championship, which begins Tuesday at VMI's Gray-Minor Stadium. Radford will face the seventh-seeded Keydets in opening-round play. Tuesday's games are single-elimination - the winner moves into the main six-team bracket that begins on Wednesday at 11 a.m.

“We had opportunities to win and should have won the baseball game,” head coach Joe Raccuia said. “We put ourselves in a position to have a lead late, having second and third twice with less than two outs, but we couldn't move anyone over and just didn't do a very good job of situational hitting.”

All of the game's scoring was done in the first inning. The Highlanders got on the board first for the third straight time in the series when Matt Hillsinger hit a leadoff homer to right field, his sixth of the season.

In the home half, Liberty's (33-22, 18-9) Ian Parmley tripled to the right center field gap – he came home on the next play when Michael Robertson singled to right center, tying the game at 1-1. Robertson stole second, then came home on Tyler Bream's two-out single that gave the Flames their first lead of the series.

Liberty right-hander Keegan Linza started and went six innings to earn his 10th win (10-3), he struck out five and stranded the bases loaded in the sixth inning, the next time the Highlanders had a scoring opportunity. Garrett Baker entered in the seventh with Blake Sipe on first – after Brett Mollenhauer doubled and Matt Mack was intentionally walked, Baker got a force out at second to end the threat. Baker picked up his third save.

The Highlanders had eight hits, but stranded 11 base runners in the game.

Like Liberty, Radford's staff put up scoreless innings the rest of the way and limited the Flames to six hits. Bobby Bolling took his fifth loss (6-5), pitching 4 2-3 innings. He departed with two on and two outs in the fifth before Brad Wimmer got the final out in the inning. Jake Quigg struck out three in two scoreless innings and Jason Patten added a scoreless eighth.

“Pitching was good today,” Raccuia said. “After that first inning Bobby settled down and gave us some good work before Wimmer got that big out in the fifth. Quigg had two big innings and Patten had a big inning, and that really kept us in this game.”

2011 Royal Purple Big South Conference Baseball Championship Information