Baseball 3/28/2016 5:00:00 PM

RADFORD AND ETSU MEET IN TUESDAY BORDER CLASH

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RADFORD, Va. – The Highlanders will travel down Interstate 81 to face border rival East Tennessee State in the first of two matchups on the 2016 season. The 2015 season saw each team win on their respected field. Radford is 8-8 versus the Buccaneers under the Raccuia regime. The non-conference matchup is set for a 6 p.m. start.

SETTING THE STAGE
- Series: ETSU leads 23-17
- Location: Thomas Stadium (Johnson City, Tenn.)
- Audio
- Video
- Live Stats
- Series Notes (Radford | ETSU)

ON THE BUMP
Tuesday, March 29 – 6 p.m.
LHP Tyler Swarmer (1-2, 5.32) vs. RHP Russell Koesters (1-0, 7.04)

LAST MEETING (March 24, 2015 – Radford 7, ETSU 4 – 10 Innings)

Radford and ETSU matched each run scored in the contest, sending the game into extra innings tied at four.
The bottom of the 10th saw the Highlanders put two on base with a Hunter Higgerson double and Aaron Scoville hit by pitch.
With two outs and a 3-2 count, Brad Keen gave RU its 12th win on the season with a three-run walkoff home run to left field, giving the Highlanders a 7-4 victory.
Chris Coia led all batters with a 4 for 4 day, finishing with two RBI. Higgerson followed with three hits for RU.
The three-run home run highlighted a four-RBI day for Keen.
Radford pitchers held ETSU batters to only five hits in the contest. The Highlander bullpen allowed one run and no hits in 5.2 innings of relief.
Chris Cook was the only Buccaneer with two hits.

HIGHLANDER HIGHLIGHTS

Record: 6-18
Radford opened Big South play with a three-game series on the road versus in-state rival Longwood. The Highlanders dropped the first two games of the opening series, before salvaging a 6-5 win in the final game on Saturday. All three contests were decided by one run.
The Highlanders saw strong starts from its weekend rotation, striking out 21 batters in 21.1 innings pitched.
Dylan Nelson set a career high in strikeouts with eight punch outs on Friday. Following Nelson's performance, Mitchell MacKeith struckout a career-high seven batters in the win on Saturday
In four games on the week, the Highlander bullpen struckout 14 batters in 8.1 innings of relief, allowing only three earned runs.
Jonathan Gonzalez has caught fire in the RU lineup, extending his hitting streak to nine games. Over the span, Gonzalez is 13 for 34 with seven runs scored, seven RBIs, two doubles and one home run.
With two strikeouts on the week Danny Hrbek has only struck out four times on the season. The junior third baseman ranks 24th nationally in the toughest to strikeout category, striking out once every 21.3 plate appearances.
The Highlanders have struggled to string together runs early in ballgames, RU has been outscored 46-21 in the first three innings.
The fifth and sixth innings have been good to Radford as they have scored 14 runs in the fifth and 18 runs in the sixth. Radford is hitting .287 in the fifth and .270 in the sixth. Gonzalez has saw the most success in the two innings, going 7 for 10 with six RBIs and three runs scored.
Radford is 21-35 versus teams from the Volunteer State.

SCOUTING ETSU

Record: 11-12
ETSU opened up Southern Conference play on the road this past weekend with a three-game series at Western Carolina. The Buccaneers took game one, before dropping the final two games of the series.
Rightfielder Lance Mays put together an impressive performance in the opening series, finishing 5 for 13 with eight RBIs, double, triple and home run.
The series saw Hagen Owenby collect five hits and six RBIs, while Trey York followed with five RBIs and Robby McCabe finished with four RBIs.
ETSU stands in a three-way tie for second in the SoCon with a .306 batting average. The Buccaneers sport seven players with a .300-plus average with each registering 30 or more at bats.
York and Owenby pace the offense in most offensive categories. York has posted a .418/.758/.495 line through 23 games, while leading the team in hits (38), runs (26) and stolen bases (7). Owenby follows with a .370 average, eight home runs and 28 RBIs. York is not far behind with seven home runs and 21 RBIs.
Buccaneer pitchers rank eighth in the SoCon with a team ERA of 6.63.
Relief pitcher Peyton Taylor has compiled a 2.95 ERA in 14 appearances and 18.1 innings pitched. The redshirt-junior has only allowed six earned runs on the season.
Opposing batters are hitting .296 with 57 doubles and 24 home runs of Buccaneer pitchers.
ETSU is 2-0 versus Big South squads on the year. The Buccaneers defeated UNC Asheville 9-1 on March 2 and Winthrop 7-5 on March 22.

UP NEXT

Radford returns to RU Baseball Stadium on Friday for a three-game series with Campbell.
The series will be the Big South home opener for the Highlanders.
RU swept the series in 2015, outscoring the Camels 18-5.
Campbell leads the all-time series 26-18.

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