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Travis McQueen

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HIGHLANDERS TRAVEL TO VANDERBILT FOR NASHVILLE REGIONAL REMATCH



RADFORD, Va. – Radford travels to No. 2 Vanderbilt tomorrow for a rematch of the 2015 Nashville Regional final. In last season's matchup, Vanderbilt advanced to the NCAA Super Regional with a 21-0 shutout victory. The Highlanders and Commodores meet for a two-game series in the first regular season meeting between the two foes.
 
SETTING THE STAGE
-  Series: Vanderbilt leads 1-0
-  Location: Hawkins Field (Nashville, Tenn.)
-  Video
-  Audio
-  Game One Stats  Game Two Stats
-  Tickets
-  Series Notes (Radford | Vanderbilt)

ON THE BUMP
Tuesday, March 8 – 5 p.m.
LHP Tyler Swarmer (0-0, 3.68) vs. RHP Patrick Raby (1-0, 1.93)
Wednesday, March 9 – 5 p.m.
TBA  vs. RHP Chandler Day (1-0, 4.50)
 
LAST MEETING
  • Vanderbilt handed Radford its largest defeat of the 2015 season at 21-0 on June 1. A 10-run fifth inning, highlighted the Commodores super regional advancing win.
  • Ro Coleman and Zander Wiel led Vanderbilt with four hits each, Wiel finished with six RBI. Jason Delay contributed four RBI in the win.
  • The Highlanders only managed three hits; coming off the bats of Patrick Marshall, Hunter Higgerson and Aaron Scoville.
  • Out of the RU bullpen, Nygeal Andrews and Jeff Maxwell combined for six of Radford's 10 strikeouts.
     
HIGHLANDER HIGHLIGHTS
  • Record: 2-9
  • Radford hosted Hartford for its home opening series March 4-6, dropping the first two games of the series, before collecting a 4-2 win on Sunday to avoid being swept at home for the first time since 2013.
  • In the lone win on the weekend, the Highlanders received a strong showing from Mitchell MacKeith. MacKeith allowed only one run (unearned) on four hits, while striking out four Hartford batters.
  • Jonathan Gonzalez collected his first hit as a Highlander in the win, finishing the day with a 3 for 4 showing at the plate with a two-run single in the sixth inning. The three-hit performance is the third on the season by a RU player.
  • In the 3-1 loss to Hartford on March 5, Adam Whitacre put the lone Radford run on the board with a solo blast in the bottom of the ninth. The home run was the first of Whitacre's career.
  • Collecting 15 of Radford's 68 hits through 11 games, Danny Hrbek has posted a line of .395/.526/.452.
  • Travis McQueen continues his dominance out of the bullpen, striking out nine batters in six innings pitched last week. In his last 9.2 innings pitched, McQueen has punched out 13 batters.
  • Early season errors have plagued the Highlanders, committing 19 blunders. Opponents have scored 68 runs off Highlander pitchers with only 42 coming as earned runs.
  • Radford has relied heavily on freshman catcher Zach Duff in handling the RU pitching staff. While catching both wins on the season, Duff has posted a 3.60 ERA behind the plate.
  • The Highlanders are 4-42 versus teams from the Southeastern Conference. RU has three wins against South Carolina and one versus Auburn.
 
SCOUTING VANDERBILT
  • Record: 10-1
  • Vanderbilt is coming off a three-game series in Palo Alto, Calif., versus Stanford. The Commodores collected the series win, taking two out of three games.
  • In the three-game series, Jason Delay went 3 for 6 with one run and three RBI.
  • The Commodore bullpen was spectacular in the series. In 11 innings pitched, the bullpen allowed only one run on four hits, collecting nine strikeouts.
  • Early season favorite for SEC Player of the Year, Jeren Kendall leads the Commodores in average (.442), hits (19), home runs (3) and RBI (16). An offensive line of .442/.767/.529 is one of the best in the country.
  • Wreaking havoc on the base paths, Kendall is 10 for 14 on stolen base attempts.
  • Following Kendall in the explosive Vanderbilt offense, Bryan Reynolds (.385) and Alonzo Jones (.351). Jones has 14 RBI and Reynolds has contributed 11 RBI.
  • The Commodores have collected 20 doubles, nine home runs and seven triples to start the season.
  • Vanderbilt pitchers hold a 2.91 ERA and a 11.10 strikeout per nine innings ratio. In 99 innings, Commodore pitchers have totaled 122 strikeouts. Opposing batters are only hitting .207 off Vanderbilt pitchers.
  • Hawkins Field is one of the toughest places to play at in the country, Vanderbilt is 8-0 on their home turf in 2016. Since 2010, the Commodores at 175-50 at home.
 
UP NEXT
  • Radford returns home for its second weekend home series on Friday and the last home series in March.
  • The Highlanders host Kent State for a three-game series March 11-13.
  • This marks the first meeting between the two teams.
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Players Mentioned

Hunter Higgerson

#3 Hunter Higgerson

INF
6' 3"
Senior
R/R
Patrick Marshall

#40 Patrick Marshall

OF
6' 2"
Senior
L/L
Jeff Maxwell

#32 Jeff Maxwell

LHP
6' 3"
Redshirt Junior
L/L
Aaron Scoville

#30 Aaron Scoville

OF
6' 0"
Redshirt Senior
R/R
Nygeal Andrews

#25 Nygeal Andrews

RHP/1B
6' 1"
Senior
R/R
Danny Hrbek

#7 Danny Hrbek

INF/P
5' 11"
Junior
L/R
Mitchell MacKeith

#5 Mitchell MacKeith

LHP
5' 10"
Senior
L/L
Travis McQueen

#13 Travis McQueen

RHP
6' 2"
Redshirt Senior
L/R
Tyler Swarmer

#6 Tyler Swarmer

LHP
6' 0"
Senior
R/L
Jonathan Gonzalez

#41 Jonathan Gonzalez

C
6' 0"
Junior
R/R
Zach Duff

#19 Zach Duff

C
6' 0"
Freshman
R/R
Adam Whitacre

#35 Adam Whitacre

OF
6' 2"
Freshman
L/L

Players Mentioned

Hunter Higgerson

#3 Hunter Higgerson

6' 3"
Senior
R/R
INF
Patrick Marshall

#40 Patrick Marshall

6' 2"
Senior
L/L
OF
Jeff Maxwell

#32 Jeff Maxwell

6' 3"
Redshirt Junior
L/L
LHP
Aaron Scoville

#30 Aaron Scoville

6' 0"
Redshirt Senior
R/R
OF
Nygeal Andrews

#25 Nygeal Andrews

6' 1"
Senior
R/R
RHP/1B
Danny Hrbek

#7 Danny Hrbek

5' 11"
Junior
L/R
INF/P
Mitchell MacKeith

#5 Mitchell MacKeith

5' 10"
Senior
L/L
LHP
Travis McQueen

#13 Travis McQueen

6' 2"
Redshirt Senior
L/R
RHP
Tyler Swarmer

#6 Tyler Swarmer

6' 0"
Senior
R/L
LHP
Jonathan Gonzalez

#41 Jonathan Gonzalez

6' 0"
Junior
R/R
C
Zach Duff

#19 Zach Duff

6' 0"
Freshman
R/R
C
Adam Whitacre

#35 Adam Whitacre

6' 2"
Freshman
L/L
OF
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