RADFORD at GARDNER-WEBB
May 4-6 | Bill Masters Field at John Henry Moss Stadium - Boiling Springs, N.C.
RU in 2012: 25-18 (10-5 Big South) | Streak: W1 | Last 10: 7-3 |
Friday, 6:00 p.m. | Live Stats | Live Audio
RHP Eddie Butler (5-3, 2.03) vs. RHP Matt Fraudin (1-4, 3.53) |
Saturday, 2:00 p.m. | Live Stats | Live Audio
RHP Tyler Costello (7-1, 2.32) vs. RHP Andrew Barnett (3-3, 4.81) |
Sunday, 2:00 p.m. | Live Stats | Live Audio
RHP Mark Peterson (3-1, 5.30) vs. LHP Beau Hilton (4-2, 3.81) |
After a five-day break, Radford resumes Big South action this weekend with a three-game set at Gardner-Webb that begins on Friday night.
For the Highlanders, the trip to Gardner-Webb is the first all-time – the two teams played in Spartanburg, S.C. and Forest City, N.C. in 2010. Gardner-Webb opened its new baseball facility, Bill Masters Field at John Henry Moss Stadium, in 2011.
The Highlanders have won six of the last eight conference games and four of their five Big South sets this season, entering the weekend in second place – two games behind Coastal Carolina in the league standings. Radford is one up on Campbell, which heads to Coastal for a three-game weekend series.
Meanwhile, Gardner-Webb swept VMI last weekend to get back in the tournament picture (top eight qualify) – the Runnin' Bulldogs sit five games out, in sixth place.
Radford looks for another standout weekend from its starting pitching, anchored by Big South Pitcher of the Week
Eddie Butler. Butler has tossed three complete game efforts in his last four outings and a pair of shutouts over his last three.
Since losing to Coastal Carolina on March 30, Butler is 3-1 with a 0.79 ERA, allowing just three earned runs on 23 hits with 26 strikeouts over 34 frames.
Brett Mollenhauer has been swinging a hot bat recently for the Highlanders, going 8-for-20 over his last five games with eight RBIs, including six in the Presbyterian series last weekend.
Radford is trying to snap a five-game slide against Gardner-Webb after winning the first five series meetings. A season ago, the Runnin' Bulldogs got nine series RBIs from Dusty Quattlebaum in their series sweep at Radford, who knocked home the go-ahead runs in the first two games – Quattlebaum is hitting .315 with six homers and 32 RBIs this season.
WEEKEND NOTEBOOK
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The Highlanders enter the week with a .981 fielding percentage, third-best in NCAA Division I – Radford is tied with Stony Brook at .981, but the Seawolves have played more games than the Highlanders and have had more chances
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The school record for fielding percentage in a season is .970, set by the 2004 team
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Radford, Campbell, and Liberty remain the only three Big South teams with a batting average better than .290 and an ERA lower than 4.30
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In the first NCAA WHIP report (walks, hits per innings pitched) of the 2012 season, Eddie Butler ranks 33rd among Division I pitchers at 0.97 (national leader – 0.66)
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Butler's 2.03 ERA ranks 49th in the country
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Butler needs four wins to match Jim Abbott's (1992-95) career record of 24
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Butler's ERA and opponent batting average (.200) are tops among Big South starting pitchers
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Tyler Costello (7-1) needs two more wins to match the program-best of nine in a season, set by Abbott and Butler
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Matt Mack is 8-for-22 over his last five games and brings a nine-game hitting streak into the weekend (.400, 16-for-40)
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Mack's 14-game hitting streak earlier this season is the team's best in 2012
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Brett Mollenhauer is six games away from matching Radford's career games played record of 208, established by Kelly Dampeer (1997-97)
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Entering the weekend, Mollenhauer (104), Matt Hillsinger (116) and Jeff Kemp (106) are the three active Highlanders to crack 100 career RBIs – Mack (96) needs only four more for 100
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Hillsinger (222) and Mollenhauer (221) are the 10th and 11th Radford hitters to eclipse 200 career hits – Mack sits at 180 entering the weekend
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Head coach Joe Raccuia is seven wins shy of 200 for his career
