BOX SCORE BOX SCORE

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Eddie Butler matched a career high with 10 strikeouts, Radford scored five unanswered runs after the sixth inning, and the Highlanders picked up a series-opening 7-3 win over UNC Greensboro on Friday.
 
Butler went seven innings on the way to his first win (1-0), and his sixth win in seven decisions, allowing three runs on five hits on 105 pitches.   UNCG got its runs on back-to-back homers in the sixth, but Butler came back in the seventh and struck out the side, including a punchout with the bases loaded to end the threat.
 
Radford (3-6) picked up 13 hits and was led by a 2-for-4 effort from Jeff Kemp with two RBIs and a pair of runs.  Matt Hillsinger went hitless, but had a pair of sacrifice fly RBIs.  Brett Mollenhauer, Phil Bondi and Cory Turner each posted 3-for-5 days at the plate. 

"It was a complete game today," head coach Joe Raccuia said.  "We played how we're capable of playing - defending, executing on offense and scoring runs when we needed to score them.  It was a solid game - we battled for each pitch.  Playing pitch-for-pitch is what we've been talking about now for five months.

"Butler was dynamic today and he made one mistake, but that was it.  One bad pitch out of 100 is a pretty good day."
 
The loss was the first of the season for the Spartans (7-1), who entered the day as one of 10 remaining Division I unbeatens.  Thomas Troelstrup got UNCG on the board with his two-out, two-run homer in the sixth (2) and Trevor Edwards hit a solo blast (5) on the next play to account for all of the scoring by the Spartans.
 
Jason Patten set down the final six batters of the game in order to earn his first save.
 
Radford got on the board when Carl Travers leadoff double started a two-run fifth where he and Zach Costello were knocked in on back-to-back RBI singles by Mollenhauer and Kemp. 
 
After UNCG's three-run sixth, the Highlanders immediately got the runs back when Kemp hit a looping line drive off the base of the wall in right center, an RBI triple that scored Mollenhauer and tied the game at 3-3.  Kemp came home on Hillsinger's first sacrifice fly of the day give Radford the lead for good, 4-3.
 
A Josh Gardiner squeeze bunt in the eighth scored Turner to make it 5-3, and Hillsinger and Ryan Burgess hit sacrifice flys in the ninth to close the scoring.
 
Lee Gilliam, who gave up the runs in the seventh, took the loss (0-1) for UNCG.
 
Game two of the series is scheduled for Saturday at 1 p.m.