Baseball 3/17/2016 10:00:00 AM

RADFORD HEADS TO PALMETTO STATE FOR MATCHUPS VS. USC UPSATE AND LAFAYETTE

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RADFORD, Va. – Radford travels to the Palmetto State on Friday for a three-game non-conference series versus host USC Upstate and Lafayette. The Highlanders will take on USC Upstate on Friday and Sunday, while facing off against Lafayette on Saturday in a neutral site contest. RU went 3-3 in games played in South Carolina during the 2015 season.

SETTING THE STAGE
- Series: First meeting versus USC Update and Lafayette
- Location: Cleveland S. Harley Baseball Park (Spartanburg, S.C.)
- Live Stats

ON THE BUMP
Friday, March 18 – 6 p.m. vs. USC-Upstate
LHP Zack Ridgely (1-2, 3.24) vs. RHP Eric Birklund (0-1, 2.95)
Saturday, March 19 – 2 p.m. vs. Lafayette
RHP Dylan Nelson (0-3, 3.60) vs. RHP David Bednar (0-1, 4.50)
Sunday, March 20 – 1 p.m. vs. USC-Upstate
LHP Mitchell MacKeith (1-1, 4.50) vs. RHP Zach Mitchell (3-1, 1.66)

HIGHLANDER HIGHLIGHTS

Record: 2-15
The Highlanders traveled to Morgantown, W.Va. for the first time in 22 years to take on West Virginia on Tuesday. Radford jumped out to an early 1-0 lead as Danny Hrbek drove in Shane Johnsonbaugh on a single up the middle. RU starter Tyler Swarmer cruised through the first two frames, but ran into a roadblock in the bottom of the third. West Virginia kicked off the inning with three consecutive singles. The Mountaineers would add four runs on a sacrifice fly by Darius Hill, a two-run single by Shaun Corso and a Marques Inman single. The big inning gave West Virginia a 4-1 lead over Radford after three innings. The Mountaineers added two more runs, extending their lead to 6-1. Radford would add a late run in the top of the ninth as Johnsonbaugh lined his second double down the right field line, scoring Anthony Miano, who was hit by a pitch earlier in the inning. Mountaineer pitchers allowed only two hits in the final four innings, taking a 6-2 victory over the Highlanders.
In the loss, Johnsonbaugh collected his first multi-hit game since Feb. 19 at Mercer and the 30th of his career. The two doubles are the most by a Highlander on the season.
Johsonbaugh snapped a 0 for 17 streak on Sunday, going 3 for 7 with two doubles and a RBI in his last two games.
Hrbek has collected a hit in 13 of RU's 17 games on the season, including seven in the multi-hit category.
Radford has left 30 runners on base in its last four games. The Highlanders are 38 for 195 with runners on. With runners in scoring position, RU is 28 for 113.
Opposing squads have had their way on the base paths, successfully swiping 31 bags in 37 attempts, including 20 in the last six games.
Radford's weekend rotation of Ridgley, Nelson and MacKeith has been solid to start the season. The trio has held opposing batters to a .245 average, allowing only 24 earned runs in 59 innings pitched.

SCOUTING USC UPSTATE

Record: 8-10
The Spartans are currently on a five-game skid, dropping a three-game weekend series at Kentucky and a Tuesday matchup versus in-state rival South Carolina.
USC Upstate has out-hit and out-scored its opponents on the season. The Spartans hold an 82-76 run advantage and a 155-150 hit advantage.
Three hitters sport a .300-plus average: Cody Brittain (.390), J.J. Shimko (.311) and Jordan Ford (.305).
Zach Krider leads the Spartans with 13 RBI and Ford follows with 12 as the only two Spartans in double-digits.
USC Upstate's has received a strong effort from its pitching staff as the Spartans rank second in the Atlantic Sun with 9.40 strikeouts per nine innings.
Zach Mitchell highlights the Spartans rotation. Mitchell leads the conference with three wins and ranks fourth with a 1.66 ERA. The righty has struckout 22 batters in 21.2 innings pitched.
A sure handed team, USC Upstate leads the Atlantic Sun with a .975 fielding percentage, committing only 16 errors in 642 chances.

SCOUTING LAFAYETTE

Record: 2-8
Lafayette is coming off a 5-1 loss to Seton Hall on Wednesday, the first contest for the Leopards since March 8th. The two squads combined for 16 hits, as 15 were of the single variety. Steven Cohen and Andrew Landolfi finished with two hits a piece in the loss. The lone Leopard run came off the bat of Landolfi in the bottom of the second on a single. Lafayette used nine pitchers in the loss.
The Leopards have compiled a .259 batting average, gathering 89 hits in 343 at bats.
Through nine games, Cohen leads the Leopards with a .395 average, one home run and 12 RBI.
Following Cohen, Dan Leckie (.310) and Michael Coniglio (.282) round out the top of the batting order. Leckie is Lafayette's leader in doubles (5) and steals (5-5).
The Leopards struggle holding runners on the bases as opponents have snatched 31 bases in 36 attempts.
Sporting a 5.51 team ERA, David Bednar has complied the lowest ERA among starters at 4.85. Opposing batters are hitting a minimal .208 off the righty.
Lafayette will play five games in five days starting on Saturday versus Radford.

UP NEXT

Radford returns to RU Baseball Stadium for its final March home game on Tuesday, hosting Virginia Tech in the second game of the 2016 edition of the New River Valley Showdown.
The Highlanders and Hokies are set to battle at 5 p.m.
Virginia Tech battled back for a 4-3 win in 10 innings during the first game of the showdown on March 1.

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