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Matt Hillsinger
Tim Cowie

Baseball

BASEBALL HEADS TO HIGH POINT FOR WEEKEND BIG SOUTH SERIES

SERIES NOTES

Radford plays its first weekend series away from home in four weeks, concluding a stretch of nine Big South games over the last 10 with a three-game set at High Point beginning Friday night.
 
The two teams will play a scheduled Saturday doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m.
 
Dating back to March 6, when the Highlanders opened their home schedule and began a string 14 of 17 games at home, Radford has an 11-6 record – the Highlanders enter the weekend with a 7-3 mark over their last 10 games.
 
RADFORD at HIGH POINT
April 6-7 | Williard Stadium - High Point, N.C.
RU in 2012: 15-13 (4-2, Big South) | Streak: L1 | Last 10: 7-3
Friday, 6:00 p.m. | Live Stats | Live Audio | Big South Network Video
RHP Eddie Butler (2-2, 3.16) vs. RHP Ryan Retz (4-2, 3.43)
Saturday, 1:00 p.m. | Live Stats | Live Audio | Big South Network Video
RHP Tyler Costello (5-0, 1.59) vs. RHP Matt Armstead (3-2, 3.75)
Saturday, Game 2 | Live Stats | Live Audio | Big South Network Video
RHP Mark Peterson (0-1, 6.51) vs. RHP Jacob Newberry (3-1, 3.43)
NOTE: Big South Network live video this weekend will use RadfordAthletics.com live audio feed
Radford brings the nation's top fielding percentage into the weekend – the Highlanders have .983 mark and have committed just 19 errors this season, tied for the fewest in the country among teams with 28 games played.    The 333 assists for Radford is fifth nationally among teams at the 28-game mark.
 
In addition to defense, a couple of hot hitters lead the Highlanders into the weekend.  Matt Hillsinger has hit in 10 straight, the second-longest active streak in the Big South, going 16-for-36 (.444).  His six homers match a career high from last season – he enters the weekend tied for first in the Big South.  Hillsinger's team-high .375 average was fourth among Big South hitters at the conclusion of the Coastal Carolina series.  
 
Matt Mack had a 14-game hitting streak snapped in the finale of the Coastal series, but he has reached in 22 straight, dating back to the second game of the season, and hit in 14 of 16 since returning to the lineup on March 7.   Mack is hitting .302 entering the weekend,
 
Entering the series, the Highlanders have won four of the last seven meetings with the Panthers and back-to-back sets dating back to the 2010 season.   
 
WEEKEND NOTEBOOK
  • The four day break that the Highlanders enjoyed prior to the High Point series is the longest of the season, to date
  • Radford is one of four league teams (Campbell, Liberty, High Point) hitting better than .280 (281) and with a team ERA under 5.00 (4.59) – only Radford and Liberty boast a fielding percentage of better than .980, in addition to those numbers
  • In Friday's start against Coastal, Eddie Butler had nine strikeouts, one off his career high of 10 (3 times)
  • Butler enters the weekend with 9.26 strikeouts per nine innings, third-best among qualifying pitchers in the Big South
  • Opponents are hitting .206 off of Butler, fifth in the league
  • Tyler Costello's 26-inning scoreless streak came to a close in the first inning of his start on Saturday, but he picked up his fifth win in as many starts
  • Costello's 1.59 ERA is 44th in NCAA Division I, and his five victories are 19th
  • Jason Patten, who recorded his 19th career save on Saturday, has made 80 career appearances
  • All four of Patten's saves have been of the multiple-inning variety
  • Both Patten and Abram Williams (22 saves) rank among the Big South's all-time top 10
  • Williams has worked 6 1/3 scoreless innings in a row, with six strikeouts
  • Radford steps out of league play for the next six games following the High Point series, including a weekend series at home with Fairleigh Dickinson next weekend (April 14-16)
  • The non-league stretch will be six games in seven days
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