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7
George Mason MASON 13-27
8
Winner Radford RAD 11-29
George Mason MASON
13-27
7
Final
8
Radford RAD
11-29
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
George Mason MASON 0 2 1 0 3 0 0 0 1 7 11 2
Radford RAD 0 1 0 2 0 4 0 1 X 8 9 0

W: McQueen, Travis (2-1) L: Porcella, Evan (0-3) S: Ross, Austin (1)

Game Recap: Baseball |

MCQUEEN STRIKES OUT EIGHT IN RELIEF AS RADFORD HOLDS ON FOR 8-7 WIN



GAME INFORMATION
  • Score: Radford 8, George Mason 7
  • Records: Radford (11-29) | George Mason (13-27)
  • Location: RU Baseball Stadium | Radford, Va.  
                                      
RADFORD, Va. – Travis McQueen struck out a career-high eight batters in 4.1 innings of relief as Radford battled back for a 8-7 series salvaging victory over George Mason in the Highlanders final non-conference weekend series, Sunday afternoon at the RU Baseball Stadium.
 
The Patriots controlled an early 3-1 lead, before the Highlanders knotted the game at three in the bottom of the fourth. The frame opened with a Trevor Riggs double to left field and Jonathan Gonzalez reached on a fielding error. With runners on first and second, Jordan Taylor laid down a sacrifice bunt. A wild throw by the George Mason third baseman allowed Riggs to score and Gonzalez to move to third base, while Taylor was thrown out at second.
 
Nygeal Andrews followed with a double into the right-center field gap, plating Gonzalez and knotting the game at three.
 
The tie was short lived as George Mason added three runs on four hits in the top of the fifth on a Trevor Kelly RBI single and a Jonathan Hansen two-run single. The three runs gave the Patriots a 6-3 lead with four innings remaining.
 
Radford's offense started to click in the sixth frame as Colby Higgerson lined a single into right field. Battling back in the count, Luke Wise lifted a two-run home run over the right field wall and the outstretched glove of Kent Blackstone.
 
Wise's third home run on the season pulled the Highlanders within 6-5 with only one out in the sixth inning.
 
Following the home run and George Mason pitching change, Chris Coia earned a five-pitch walk. Shane Johnsonbaugh stepped up to the plate, looking to move Coia into scoring position with a base hit. Johnsonbaugh lined a triple down the right field line as Coia scored all the way from first base to tie the contest at six.
 
Danny Hrbek gave Radford a 7-6 lead with a RBI groundout to first, scoring Johnsonbaugh.
 
After taking the lead, McQueen settled into a groove, retiring four of the next seven batters via the punch out as the Highlanders looked to add insurance runs.
 
Wise picked up his second extra-base hit on the day as the centerfielder led off the eighth with a double into the left-center field gap. Coia executed a sac bunt, advancing Wise to third base. Johnsonbaugh provided the insurance run with a sac fly to right field, extending the RU lead to 8-6.
 
The top of the ninth provided fans with plenty of excitement and drama. McQueen retired the first two batters to start the inning, before allowing a double to Greg Popatak.
 
Kelly stepped up the plate looking for his third RBI and a chance to cut the deficit. With 1-2 count, Kelly drilled a ball down the left field line. The ball curved to the left of the foul pole as the third base umpire signaled home run. As the ball appeared to go foul, head coach Joe Raccuia and the Highlanders pleaded theri case for the foul ball.
 
Following a meeting among the umpiring crew, Kelly's two-run home run was overruled. With another chance, McQueen walked Kelly and Michael Smith to load the bases.
 
Radford went to its bullpen as Austin Ross came on to face the bases loaded jam. Ross walked Hansen, pulling George Mason within 8-7.
 
Settling down, Ross retired pinch hitter Garett Driscoll via a 93 mph fastball to earn his first career save as the Highlanders held on for the victory.
Radford continues its streak of non-conference games on Tuesday, hosting ETSU for a 6 p.m. matchup.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
  • Win: Travis McQueen (2-1) (4.1 IP, 2 H, 1R/1ER, 2 BB, 8 K)
  • Loss: Evan Porcella (0-3) (0.1, 1 H, 1 R/1ER, 0 BB, 0 K)
  • Save: Austin Ross (1).
  • McQueen's career high strikeouts, also came with a career-high 4.1 innings pitched.
  • In 12 non-conference appearances, McQueen has tallied 36 strikeouts in 28 innings pitched.
  • Trevor Riggs and Luke Wise led the Highlanders with two hits each.
  • The multi-hit game is the 10th of Riggs' career and the sixth for Wise.
  • Wise has drove in two runs in four games on the season.
  • Shane Johnsonbaugh finished with two RBIs giving him 19th career multi-RBI games.
  • Colby Higgerson got Radford on the board in the second inning on a RBI sacrifice fly to right field. Higgerson now has 12 sacrifices on the year.
  • Jonathan Hansen led George Mason with a 2 for 3 effort with three RBIs and two walks.
  • The two squads combined to leave 17 runners on base with George Mason stranding 10 runners.
  • Radford has found success on Sundays as the Highlanders improve to 4-6 in Sunday contests, including a 3-3 mark at home. 
  • In the three-game series, Radford's bullpen only yielded three runs in 13.2 innings, combining for 15 strikeouts.
QUOTABLE
  • "I thought we made the most of our at bats today for the first time in a long time. We executed in moving runners up 90 feet and and working early in counts. Today, we were really clean defensively. We got some really good innings from the fifth inning on from Travis McQueen. He kept the lead for us and threw some big pitches. ~ Radford head coach, Joe Raccuia

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