Friday, April 13
RADFORD
6:30 PM
Radford University
19-15
1
vs
0
Fairleigh Dickinson
15-15-1
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Runs R | Hits H | Errors E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fairleigh Dickinson | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 |
| Radford | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | X | 1 | 3 | 0 |
Photo by: Tim Cowie
BUTLER'S 5-HIT SHUTOUT LEADS BASEBALL TO 1-0 WIN OVER FDU
4/13/2012 9:08:00 PM | Baseball
RADFORD, Va. – Radford right-handed starter Eddie Butler pitched his second complete game in a row and second career shutout to lift the Highlanders in a 1-0 win over Fairleigh Dickinson in the opener of a non-conference series on Friday night.
Butler (3-3) surrendered only five hits, struck out eight and gave up three walks in his winning effort for Radford (19-15) – he only needed 1:38 to finish the game.
“He won us the game,” head coach Joe Raccuia said. “That was Eddie Butler. The kid's a freak. In the top of the eighth he made a pitch at 95 and then at 96 in the ninth.”
The Highlander offense was lead by Jeff Kemp, who went 2-for-3 and scored the game's only run, when he led the fourth inning off with his Big South-leading sixth triple of the season down the right field line. During the next at-bat, Matt Hillsinger drove in Kemp with a sacrifice fly to right field.
Fairleigh Dickinson starter Craig Warner (1-3) pitched well in a losing effort. He worked six innings, allowed only three hits against Radford and struck out two. Warner made 63 pitches and induced 11 fly ball outs for the Knights (15-15-1).
“He was tough to hit,” Raccuia said of Warner's performance. “You have to barrel up a guy like that. We hit some balls hard, but not true line drives. He kept us off balance.”
Butler ran into trouble in the third, but stranded the bases loaded. The Knights threatened in the sixth when Ryan Kresky and Kyle Weeks singled to put runners at first and second with one down. However, Butler battled back and struck out the final two batters of the inning.
“One thing tonight he did to separate himself was make pitches when he needed to,” Raccuia said.
The Highlanders will face Fairleigh Dickinson for game two in their weekend series on Saturday at 4 p.m.
Butler (3-3) surrendered only five hits, struck out eight and gave up three walks in his winning effort for Radford (19-15) – he only needed 1:38 to finish the game.
“He won us the game,” head coach Joe Raccuia said. “That was Eddie Butler. The kid's a freak. In the top of the eighth he made a pitch at 95 and then at 96 in the ninth.”
The Highlander offense was lead by Jeff Kemp, who went 2-for-3 and scored the game's only run, when he led the fourth inning off with his Big South-leading sixth triple of the season down the right field line. During the next at-bat, Matt Hillsinger drove in Kemp with a sacrifice fly to right field.
Fairleigh Dickinson starter Craig Warner (1-3) pitched well in a losing effort. He worked six innings, allowed only three hits against Radford and struck out two. Warner made 63 pitches and induced 11 fly ball outs for the Knights (15-15-1).
“He was tough to hit,” Raccuia said of Warner's performance. “You have to barrel up a guy like that. We hit some balls hard, but not true line drives. He kept us off balance.”
Butler ran into trouble in the third, but stranded the bases loaded. The Knights threatened in the sixth when Ryan Kresky and Kyle Weeks singled to put runners at first and second with one down. However, Butler battled back and struck out the final two batters of the inning.
“One thing tonight he did to separate himself was make pitches when he needed to,” Raccuia said.
The Highlanders will face Fairleigh Dickinson for game two in their weekend series on Saturday at 4 p.m.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Butler, Eddie (3-3)
L: WARNER, Craig (1-3)
Batting:
SH: RITZ, Jordan 1 ; SIEBLER, Shane 1
Batting:
3B: Kemp, Jeff 1
RBI: Hillsinger, Matt 1
SF: Hillsinger, Matt 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Kemp, Jeff 1
CS: Costello, Zach 1 ; Mollenhauer, Brett 1
Game Leaders
Thursday, April 23
Sunday, April 12
Thursday, April 02
Saturday, March 21
