SOLID DEFENSE, TIMELY HITTING LEADS RU TO OPENING VICTORY

Friday, February 13

Birmingham, Ala.

4:00 PM (CT)

Radford University

1-0

Samford

0-1

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Radford	2	0	1	0	0	1	0	1	0	5	6	1
Samford	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	2	7	4

Photo by: Big South Sports Photos

SOLID DEFENSE, TIMELY HITTING LEADS RU TO OPENING VICTORY

2/13/2015 10:12:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Radford opened its season Friday with an impressive 5-2 victory at Samford. Michael Boyle went 6.0 strong innings, and Hunter Higgerson drove in three runs as the Highlanders took the opening game of the three-game series. RU scored all five of its runs with two outs and capitalized on four defensive miscues by the Bulldogs scoring two unearned runs.

The Highlanders rallied for two runs with two outs in the top of the first when Higgerson pulled a double down the left field line to drive in a pair and give RU a lead it would never relinquish. A Higgerson single in the third drove in another run and gave RU a 3-1 advantage.

The Radford defense turned three double plays in the first four innings to thwart any momentum Samford tried to build and give Boyle all the support he would need on the mound. He earned the victory after walking one and striking out three. Kyle Palmer worked two scoreless innings in middle relief, and Ryan Meisinger retired all three batters he faced in the ninth to earn the save.

Josh Gardiner drove in a two-out run with a double off the centerfield wall in the sixth, and Chris Coia perfectly executed a sacrifice squeeze to add a final insurance run in the eighth.

"It looked like we had been on the field a bunch. It really showed in the way we played defense," head coach Joe Raccuia said. "Those are the full expectations of how we defend the field. It's a veteran team, and you can see it on the field. It's a mature group."