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Butler-20160320
13
Winner Radford RAD 4-16
2
USC Upstate UPST 8-12
Winner
Radford RAD
4-16
13
Final
2
USC Upstate UPST
8-12
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Radford RAD 0 0 1 5 0 3 4 0 0 13 16 2
USC Upstate UPST 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 2 7 2

W: MacKeith, Mitchell (2-1) L: MITCHELL, Z (3-2)

Game Recap: Baseball |

BUTLER HAS CAREER DAY AS RADFORD ROLLS 13-2 OVER USC UPSTATE



GAME INFORMATION
  • Score: Radford 13, USC Upstate 2
  • Records: Radford (4-16) | USC Upstate (8-12)
  • Location: Harley Park | Spartanburg, S.C.  
                                      
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – A career day of three doubles and six RBI by Kyle Butler highlighted a 13-2 win over USC Upstate as the Highlanders offense exploded for a season-high 16 hits, Sunday afternoon in non-coference action at Harley Park.
 
Radford crossed the plate first for the first time on the weekend as Chris Coia led off the top of the third with a single into left field. Colby Higgerson followed with another single down the left field line as Coia went first to third on the hit. Higgerson moved up to second on the throw to put Highlander runners on second and third.
 
Swinging one of the hottest bats in the RU lineup, Jonathan Gonzalez stepped up the plate with a prime RBI opportunity. Gonzalez did not disappoint, spraying a single into right field, scoring Coia from third base to give Radford a 1-0 lead.
 
Looking to pad its lead, Kyle Butler laid down a sacrifice bunt, moving Gonzalez into scoring position with two outs. The RU rally was cut short as Simon Palenchar struckout to end in the inning.
 
The Highlander bats stayed hot as Chandler Davis led off the fourth with a single. One batter later, Matt Roth singled through the right side as James Fowlkes misplayed the ball, allowing Davis to score from first base. The Spartan error gave the Highlanders a 2-0 lead.
 
Following a Luke Wise walk and Coia sac bunt, Radford had two runners in scoring positon. With runners on second and third, Higgerson worked the count, earning a walk to load the bases. Looking for his second RBI in the contest, Gonzalez stepped into the batter's box. Gonzalez earned the easy RBI with a bases loaded walk, extending the RU lead to 3-0.
 
The walk forced the Spartans to make a pitching change as starter Zach Mitchell allowed (check his line). USC Upstate sent designated hitter Charlie Carpenter to the bump. The first batter Carpenter faced was Butler, who drilled a bases clearing double into the left-center field gap, blowing the game wide open as Radford padded its lead to 6-0.
 
RU starter Mitchell MacKeith dominated Spartan hitters early in the contest, allowing only two hits, while striking out four batters.
 
Leading 6-0 after five innings, Radford continued to add to its lead. Trevor Riggs launched his third triple of the weekend into the left-center field gap, later scoring on a wild pitch. After the wild pitch, Gonzalez singled into left field, moving to second on another USC Upstate wild pitch.
 
With another RBI opportunity in front of him, Butler delivered once again, lining a double down the left field line to score Gonzalez. The wild pitch and Butler RBI double expanded the RU lead to 8-0.
 
Radford would add another run with Butler standing on second base as Davis blooped a double into shallow center field. After three runs on four hits, Radford controlled a 9-0 lead heading into the bottom of the sixth inning.
 
The Highlanders put together another huge inning in the top of the seventh. Following back-to-back singles by Coia and Higgerson, pinch hitter Nygeal Andrews lined a first pitch fastball through the left side, scoring Coia from second base.
 
Butler stepped up to the dish with two outs and two runners on base. His third double of the game scored Higgerson and Andrews, giving him six RBI on the day. Butler's two-bagger gave Radford a 12-0 advantage. Not finished in the inning, Zach York followed with a RBI single to left field.
 
USC Upstate's added a run in the seventh and the eighth as the Highlanders rolled to a monstrous 13-1 victory.
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.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
  • Win: Mitchell MacKeith (2-1) (6 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K)
  • Loss: Zach Mitchell (3-2) (3.2 IP, 6 H, 6R/6ER, 4 BB, 5 K)
  • MacKeith collected his third quality start on the season. The lefty has struck out four batters in each of his last three starts.
  • Radford finished with 13 runs on 16 hits, both season highs for the Highlanders
  • Kyle Butler and Chris Coia led the Highlanders with three hits each, the first three-hit games for the duo on the season.
  • Butler's three doubles are the most by a Highlander since Coia collected three at Liberty on March 21, 2015.
  • Radford's record for most doubles in game is four, set by Chris Carr in 1997.
  • In addition to his three doubles, Butler drove in a career-high six runs. The six RBI are the most by a Highlander since Hunter Higgerson drove in six on May 16, 2015.
  • Trevor Riggs, Jonathan Gonzalez and Chandler Davis finished with two hits each.
  • Riggs collected his third consecutive triple in as many days.
  • Driving in two runs, Gonzalez finished the weekend 6 for 12 with four RBI.
  • Davis earned his second multi-hit contest on the season and picked up his first RBI since Feb. 20.
  • With a pinch hit single and RBI in the seventh, Nygeal Andrews picked up his first hit since May 16, 2014 and first RBI since May 10, 2014. Andrews has served primarily as pitcher the past two seasons.
 
QUOTABLE
  • "We had several guys out with a stomach virus, including a couple of our mainstay guys in the lineup. Hitting got contagious for us early and [Kyle] Butler put some good swings on the ball. Everybody really joined in with the offensive output. [Mitchell] MacKeith did what he has always done throughout his career, which is to give us a solid start on Sunday and keep us in the game. His performance today allowed us to put some swings on the baseball and score a couple of runs for him." ~ Radford head coach, Joe Raccuia

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