Radford begins a six-game non-conference homestand with a pair of midweek games, hosting Virginia Tech on Tuesday and North Carolina A&T on Wednesday – first pitch for both games is at 6 p.m.
The Highlanders begin a stretch of six games over the next eight days and play the second game of a season home-and-home series against both the Hokies and the Aggies.
After winning the final two games of their series at High Point, the Highlanders will leave Big South action until April 20 with a 6-3 record and in a three-way tie with Campbell and High Point for second place in the conference standings, just one game behind Liberty (7-2). The three second-place teams are a half-game ahead of Coastal Carolina.
Radford looks to earn home wins against Virginia Tech (22-12) and North Carolina A&T (12-18) after suffering early-season losses on the road to both teams. The Hokies enter Tuesday's game on the heels of an ACC home sweep of Boston College, while the Aggies, who have won five of their last six, head to Campbell for non-league play on Tuesday.
Last meeting vs. Virginia Tech (March 13) – Hokies 7, Highlanders 3
Virginia Tech scored six unanswered runs from the bottom of the sixth on to rally for a win over Radford in Blacksburg. The Highlanders led the game through the middle of the sixth, but the Hokies got three in the bottom of the inning, then a three-run home run by Andrew Rash (5) in the bottom of the seventh to take control. Five of Virginia Tech's runs came with two outs.
Matt Mack and
Carl Travers had two hits each for Radford. Right-handed starter
Jake Palese went five innings, struck out four and allowed two earned runs, leaving the game with the lead. Jake Atwell went 3-for-4 with a pair of sixth-inning RBIs on a game-tying single. Johnny Morales added a 3-for-5 game and scored three of Tech's seven runs.
Last meeting vs. North Carolina A&T (Feb. 29) – Aggies 13, Highlanders 10
North Carolina A&T scored eight runs in the first two innings and didn't look back in a win over Radford in Greensboro.
Cory Turner and
Matt Hillsinger hit their first home runs of the season for the Highlanders – Turner hit a three-run blast in the sixth inning and Hillsinger hit a solo homer with two outs in the ninth.
Ryan Burgess went 3-for-4 with a fourth-inning single that got Radford on the board for the first time. Catcher
Daniel Wright threw out three baserunners on attempted steals. Radford outscored the Aggies 10-5 over the final five innings, but it wasn't enough to complete the comeback. Marquis Riley and Dairio Little had three RBIs each for North Carolina A&T – Little and Andre McKoy had four hits each as part of an 18-hit attack. Kelvin Freeman hit a two-run homer in the second, part of a six-run inning for the Aggies.
MIDWEEK NOTEBOOK
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After a weekend away from home, Radford looks to improve on its 55-26 home mark since 2009, and 29-7 non-league record since '09
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Since March 5, Radford's team ERA has dropped from 6.29 to 4.39 as of April 7
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Radford remains the Big South leader in fielding percentage at .980
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Zach Costello, who went 7-for-13 in the series at High Point, enters the week on a nine-game hitting streak
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Costello, who reached base in each of his first 12 games in 2012, has reached safely in 17 straight dating back to the March 9 series opener against Bryant
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Costello ranks in the league's top-six in steals (13 – 4th) and runs (30 – 6th)
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Matt Mack extended his streak of reaching base to 24 in a row following the High Point series – Mack has played in 25 games this season, and has been on base in every game that he's played in since opening day (Feb. 17 at Samford)
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After collecting three RBIs in the Saturday games against High Point, Jeff Kemp has 32 for the season, four off his career-high of 36 in 2009
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Kemp is third in the Big South with 12 doubles and remains the league leader in triples with five
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Right-handers Keith Fritz and Jake Palese will make their first appearances since working in extended relief in the finale of the Coastal Carolina series on April 1
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Fritz's last start came in the series opener against Marist (March 16) – he worked two innings in the loss
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Palese last started in a midweek game at ETSU on March 27 – he went 2 1/3 in a loss
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After the extended layoff from Big South play, the Highlanders resume league action with a three-game series at Winthrop April 20-22
