Baseball 5/10/2016 9:00:00 AM Jordan Childress

RADFORD WRAPS UP NON-CONFERENCE ROAD PLAY AT VMI

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RADFORD, Va. – The Highlanders will not play another regular season game outside the Commonwealth for the rest of the 2016 season. Radford travels to in-state rival VMI tomorrow for its last non-conference road contest of the year. VMI comes into the contest on a seven-game losing streak, while the Highlanders look to snap a three-game skid. The matchup is slated for a 6 p.m. first pitch.

SETTING THE STAGE
- Series: Radford leads 28-21-1
- Location: Gray-Minor Stadium (Lexington, Va.)
- Video
- Audio
- Live Stats
- Game Notes (Radford | VMI)

ON THE BUMP
Wednesday, May 11 – 6 p.m.
RHP Travis McQueen (2-2, 5.14) vs. TBA

LAST MEETING (April 5, 2016)

A seven-run seventh inning for VMI saw Radford's 4-1 lead disappear as the Highlanders were unable to mount a comeback in an 8-7 loss, Tuesday evening in a battle of Commonwealth foes.
After a scoreless first, Radford jumped on the Keydets early, plating three runs in the bottom of the second. Adam Whitacre started the inning with a single and Jordan Taylor followed with a hit by pitch. A wild pitch allowed the two runners to advance a base.
Making his first start since the 2014 season, Nygeal Andrews lined a single to right field, scoring Whitacre easily. Taylor would late score on Colby Higgerson's eighth sacrifice bunt of the season.
The Highlanders third run of the inning came on a Luke Wise fly out to left, scoring Andrews from third base.
Coming up with another key hit, Whitacre gave RU a 4-0 lead with a single in the bottom of the third frame
VMI got on the board in the sixth as Ryan Smoot led off the inning with a double, coming around to score on a David Geary single.
Trailing 4-1, the Keydet offense carried over into the seventh. VMI loaded the bases with one out and chaos ensued from the Highlander bullpen.
VMI plated seven runs on five hits and two errors, taking an 8-4 lead over Radford. The big inning was highlighted by two two-run singles from Matt Pita and Geary.
Radford got two runs back in the bottom half of the inning on a double steal by Trevor Riggs and Whitacre. Riggs swiped second, forcing a throw from the VMI catcher, Whitacre broke for home on the throw. The second run came on a RBI single by Higgerson.
Attempting a late inning comeback of their own, Danny Hrbek led off the eighth with a triple, later scoring on a wild pitch. The wild pitch pulled the Highlanders within one run.
Higgerson collected his second hit on the night in the bottom of the ninth, but the Highlanders were unable to push across the tying run, dropping the in-state battle 8-7.

HIGHLANDER HIGHLIGHTS

Record: 14-33
Radford was swept in Big South road action for the first time since May 11-12, 2012 after dropping a three-game weekend series at High Point.
The series saw Danny Hrbek finish 4 for 11 with two runs scored, double and RBI. Hrbek collected his sixth three-hit game in Radford's 9-4 loss to High Point on Saturday. The performance is the 11th three-hit contest of his career.
Hrbek has only struck out once in the last 10 games, ranking 24^th nationally in the toughest to strike out category, whiffing once every 16.4 at bats.
Luke Wise put together a solid series at the dish, finishing with three hits in eight plate appearances, including two RBIs.
Chris Coia has appeared in 216 games as a Highlander and with one more appearance will tie the record for most games played in a Radford uniform. The current record is 217, set by Brett Mollenhauer (2009-12). Coia ranks 13^th in games played among active players.
Coia only needs four hits to become the 11^th player in program history with 200 career hits.
Shane Johnsonbaugh has put together most of his offensive numbers on the road, driving in 13 of his 20 runs in road contests. Of his six home runs, five have come on the road.
Ryan Sande has dominated opposing bats in road contests, compiling a 1-0 record with a 1.93 ERA. Sande has only allowed two earned runs on five hits in 9.2 innings of relief. Opponents are hitting .161 off the freshman in road matchups.
Radford is 12-12-1 in games played at VMI.

SCOUTING VMI

Record: 18-30
VMI saw its losing streak reach seven games after dropping a three-game SoCon series at ETSU. The Keydets were outscored 37-18 in the series.
The Keydets went 3-15 in the month of April, with their last win coming on April 19 in an 8-6 win over Old Dominion at home.
David Geary continues the lead the Keydet offense in average (.337), hits (60), runs (45), doubles (19) and triples (5). Geary is tied for the team lead in RBIs with 41.
The five triples rank second in the conference and the 19 doubles rank third.
Matt Pita is not far behind Geary, posting a .328 average with 58 hits, 42 runs and 15 doubles.
Collin Fleischer and Peyton Maddox has supplied a lot of the power for the Keydets, combing for 21 home runs. Fleischer ranks eighth in the SoCon with 11 blasts and Maddox is tied for ninth with 10 home runs.
Despite its record, VMI sports eight players with 20 or more RBIs. The Keydets have driven in 272 runs, ranking sixth in the league.
VMI ranks eighth in the SoCon with a 6.89 ERA and ninth with a .309 opposing batting average.
Jack Gomersall possesses the lowest ERA, holding a 4.82 clip in 27 appearances.

UP NEXT

Radford wraps up Big South road action with a three-game weekend series at Liberty.
The series marks four straight meetings between the two foes as the Highlanders will host the Flames on May 17 for a 6 p.m. non-conference matchup at the RU Baseball Stadium.
Liberty leads the all-time series 56-33.

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