RU KNOCKS OFF NATIONALLY-RANKED LIBERTY, SPLITS DOUBLEHEADER

BOX SCORE 1 | BOX SCORE 2 RADFORD, Va. - Radford (31-21, 16-10) pulled off Friday what Big South teams have not been able to do for two months, defeat Liberty (39-13, 23-2). The Highlanders snapped the 21st-ranked Flames' 20-game conference winning streak with a 4-1 victory in the first game of a doubleheader at RU Baseball Stadium. Liberty rebounded for a 9-4 win in the nightcap to split the first two games of the series.

GAME 1 • Radford 4, Liberty 1
Radford handed Liberty starter Trey Lambert (10-2) his first conference loss of the season scoring three times in the first three innings to chase the LU ace after 4.0 innings. RU took the lead in the second on an RBI infield single by Zach Woolcock, who finished the game 3-4 with a double. The Highlanders pushed the lead to 3-0 in the third on an RBI double by Josh Gardiner and a run-scoring base hit from Shane Johnsonbaugh.

The game was delayed for nearly a half an hour in the top of the second when RU centerfielder Blake Sipe and shortstop Danny Hrbek collided making a defensive play in shallow center field. Hrbek made the catch on the play, but suffered concussion symptoms. Sipe took the worst of the collision breaking his right leg. With the delay, Radford starter Michael Boyle did not return to the mound after retiring the first five Liberty batters of the game.

Michael Costello (4-2) came on in relief and pitched 4.1 innings giving up just four hits and one run, a solo homer to Alex Close. Costello earned his fourth win of the season, and Ryan Meisinger closed out his fourth save of the season setting down all four batters he faced, three of them on strikeouts.

It was the first conference loss for the Flames since the opening series of the year against Campbell on April 15. With the win, Radford tied the school record for victories with the 2011 team that won 31 games.

GAME 2 • Liberty 9, Radford 4
Liberty took advantage of back-to-back fielding errors by the Highlanders to open fifth inning and pushed across four unearned runs in the frame to break open a 4-2 game into an 8-2 margin, and Radford never fully recovered.

Nick Lacik notched a pair of hits to lead the LU offense and drove in the game's first run in the third. Will Shepherd followed with a two-run double to give the Flames an early 3-0 lead. Radford answered with two runs of its own in the bottom half of the innings. Hunter Higgerson drove in his Big South leading 45th and 46th runs of the season with a two-out single. Lacik pushed the lead to 4-2 with another RBI single in the fourth before LU broke the game open in the fifth.

Alex Close's two-run double served as the big hit in the fifth after Ryan Seiz and Becker Sankey reached on RU fielding errors to lead off the frame.

Josh Gardiner clubbed a two-run homer, his second of the season to bring RU back to 8-4, but the Highlanders would get no closer. Liberty added an insurance run in the eighth on a Sankey sacrifice fly.

Shawn Clowers (8-0) earned the victory in relief of starter Blake Fulghum for the Flames. Dylan Nelson (6-4) took the loss for RU.

The two teams will play the final game of the regular season and the rubber match of the series Saturday at 2:00 p.m. It will be senior day for Radford's Tyler Costello, Alexander Lee, Blake Sipe, and James Woods.

Print Friendly Version