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Radford University Athletics

Home Of The RadFord Highlanders RadFord Highlanders
Big South Champs
9
Winner Radford RAD 38-14
7
UNC Asheville AVL 21-33
Winner
Radford RAD
38-14
9
Final
7
UNC Asheville AVL
21-33
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Radford RAD 2 0 0 0 4 0 2 1 0 9 9 0
UNC Asheville AVL 0 0 4 0 1 2 0 0 0 7 12 1

W: Ridgely, Zack (4-1) L: WISEMAN, Z (0-2) S: Meisinger, Ryan (13)

Game Recap: Baseball |

OUTRIGHT CHAMPIONS: RADFORD WINS 10TH STRAIGHT

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ASHEVILLE, N.C. - No. 23 Radford (38-14, 19-4) defeated UNC Asheville (21-33, 5-18), 9-7 on Friday, to claim the outright Big South regular season title and its 10th straight win. In doing so, the Highlanders clinched their 12th consecutive conference series win dating back to last season and moved to a three-game lead in the standings with Saturday's regular season finale remaining.

"This was a tough game for us. Asheville is non-stop," RU head coach Joe Raccuia said. "They swing the bat aggressively and keep you on your heels."

Shane Johnsonbaugh led off the game with his fifth home run of the season, and Aaron Scoville added an RBI sac fly in the first to give RU a 2-0 lead. That lead stood until the third when Lucas Owens connected on a grand slam to give the Bulldogs a 4-2 advantage.

Radford responded like it has so many times this season. Josh Reavis doubled into the right field corner to drive home a run and scored on Danny Hrbek's three-run home run to give the Highlanders a 6-4 edge in the fifth. An Asheville run in the bottom half of the fifth cut the lead to 6-5, and the Bulldogs took the lead, 7-6, in the sixth with a pair of runs.

Again, Hrbek and Scoville led the RU attack to come back for the victory. Hrbek's single tied the game, and Scoville's squeeze bunt gave RU the lead for good in the seventh. The Highlanders added an insurance run in the eighth plating Trevor Riggs on a wild pitch.

"We executed well to expand the lead late," Raccuia said. "Palmer gave us two great innings, and then Meisinger was electric in the ninth."

Zack Ridgely (4-1) relieved Miller Trevvett, who spelled starter Dylan Nelson in the fourth, and earned the victory despite allowing three runs in 2.1 innings. Ryan Meisinger earned his league-leading 13th save striking out the only three batters he faced in the ninth.

Earlier in the night, the Highlanders learned that Coastal Carolina had lost to Campbell, which assured them of the outright title no matter what happened against UNCA.
 
"I am glad we won the regular season outright on our own without any help," Raccuia said. "I am proud of this team. We are playing for something special now. There is more to this than just winning a conference title."

The Highlanders and Bulldogs will play the regular season finale on Saturday at 1:00 p.m.
 
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