HIGHLANDERS FALL 2-1 IN SERIES FINALE AT LIBERTY, SECURE #4 SEED IN BIG SOUTH TOURNEY

BOX SCORE LYNCHBURG, Va. - Liberty rallied for two runs with two outs in the bottom of the eighth Saturday to defeat Radford 2-1 in the regular season and series finale at Liberty Baseball Stadium.

Radford scored an unearned run in the top of the first and nearly made it stand up for the victory. Alexander Lee drove in Patrick Marshall, who reached earlier in the inning on an error by Liberty shortstop Dalton Britt, to give the Highlanders a 1-0 lead.

Mitchell MacKeith was stellar in his start on the mound for Radford. He gave up just two hits and struck out three in 5.0 innings of work, leaving with a 1-0 lead.

Neither team's offense mounted much momentum. Both teams only had a runner reach third base in a single inning, and both turned into runs.

Nygeal Andrews, who replaced Jeff Maxwell on the mound for the Highlanders in the seventh, got the first two outs of the eighth on a pop up and a strikeout before the Flames rallied.

Bryan Aanderud's infield single kept the inning alive followed by a double by Alex Close to put the tying and go-ahead runs in scoring position. With a 1-2 count, Justin Sizemore lined a double to left-center to give the Flames the lead, 2-1.

"Every one of our pitchers that toed the rubber in the series competed and gave us a chance to win," Radford head coach Joe Raccuia said. "I am disappointed in our offensive effort. We tried to win a game 1-0 today, and you don't see too many of those in college baseball."

The Highlanders got the tying run on base in the top of the ninth, but Blake Sipe ended the game with a lineout to third base.

Andrews (0-1) took the loss for Radford, which fell to the No. 4 seed in next week's Big South Tournament. The Highlanders will turn around and face the No. 5 seeded Flames again Tuesday night in the opening round at Liberty. The game is scheduled for approximately 7:00 p.m. following the first-round matchup between Campbell and Charleston Southern.

No. 1 seed Campbell and No. 8 seed Charleston Southern are also on Radford's side of the bracket. No. 2 Coastal Carolina, No. 3 High Point, No. 6 Gardner-Webb, and No. 7 Longwood round out the other side of the bracket in the tournament.

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