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Radford University Athletics

Home Of The RadFord Highlanders RadFord Highlanders
Ridgely-20170324
Radford Athletics Communications
0
Longwood LWU 8-14
10
Winner Radford RAD 9-12
Longwood LWU
8-14
0
Final
10
Radford RAD
9-12
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Longwood LWU 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 2
Radford RAD 0 2 0 0 5 2 0 1 X 10 9 1

W: Ridgely, Zack (3-3) L: GOULD, Devin (1-3)

Game Recap: Baseball |

RIDGELY STRIKES OUT 11; RADFORD ROLLS 10-0 IN BIG SOUTH OPENER



GAME INFORMATION
  • Score: Radford 10, Longwood 0
  • Records: Highlanders (9-12, 1-0) | Lancers (8-14, 2-2)
  • Location: Radford Baseball Stadium | Radford, Va.  

RADFORD, Va. – Zack Ridgely sent a strong message across the Big South as Radford opened up league play Friday with a 10-0 dominating victory over Commonwealth foe Longwood as Ridgely punched out a career-high 11 batters in the Highlanders sixth straight home win
 
The junior tossed 7.2 strong innings, yielding only three hits, while issuing only one free pass in his third consecutive win. Ridgely became the first Highlander to strikeout out 10-plus batters in a game since Michael Boyle struck out 10 against Gardner-Webb on April 2, 2015.  
 
Ridgely set the tone early, striking out the first three batters he faced on 15 pitches. After collecting his fourth strikeout in the first seven batters faced, Ridgely got run support in the bottom of the second.
 
Jonathan Gonzalez led off the frame with the first of two doubles on the evening for the senior. Following the double, freshman Spencer Horwitz extended his on-base streak to 15 games with a single to center field, plating Gonzalez easily.
 
The Highlanders put runners on the corners after a perfectly executed hit-and-run single through the left side from Anthony Miano. Radford's second run of the inning came on a Devin Gould wild pitch to score Horwitz.
 
Taking the 2-0 lead, Ridgely was tested in the third as Sammy Miller collected the second Lancer hit on a two-out single up the middle. Miller later swiped second and third base. Ridgely dug deep, forcing Antwaun Tucker to fly out.
 
The two teams retired one another in order in the fourth, while Longwood collected their final hit of the contest on a Nate Blakeney single to right field in the fifth inning. Ridgely struck out two or more batters in three innings.
 
Radford's offense exploded in the bottom half of the fifth inning. The Highlanders put two runners on via a Kyle Butler single and Danny Hrbek hit by pitch. Another Gould wild pitch put the two Highlander runners in motion as a wild throw by Lancer catcher Joey Mendez to third base, allowed both runs to score.
 
Gonzalez collected his second hit; which was followed by three straight walks by Gould. Following a Miano RBI on a bases-loaded walk with only one out in the inning, Longwood went to its bullpen
 
With three runs already crossed the plate, Radford added two more as Chandler Davis grounded into a fielders' choice off newly entered Tyler Wirsu. The Lancers got the force out at second base as one run crossed the plate, but an errant throw by Brandon Harvell on the attempted double play allowed the fifth run of the inning to score.
 
Having sat in the Radford dugout for over 40 minutes in the five-run fifth inning, Ridgely got into a jam early in the sixth as the Lancers placed two runners in scoring position with only one out. Longwood's dugout made an attempt to rattle the lefty, but the Baltimore, Md., native retired back-to-back Lancers on swinging strikeouts.
 
Commanding a 7-0 lead, Radford added two more runs in the sixth on Gonzalez's second double and third hit of the night.
 
With his pitch count rising, Ridgely retired Longwood in order in the seventh and the first two batters of the eighth before giving way to John Brocklebank.
 
Brocklebank put up zeros in 1.1 innings of relief, finishing with a walk and a strikeout.
 
Cody Schneider capped off the Big South opening win with a pinch hit solo home run to deep left-center field in the bottom of the eighth for his first career home run.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
  • Win: Zack Ridgely (3-3) (7.2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 11 K)
  • Loss: Devin Gould (1-3) (4.1 IP, 5 H, 7 R, 6 ER, 6 BB, 7 K)
  • The win marked the third straight win at home for Ridgely after dropping his first three starts to the season.
  • Ridgely's previous career high in strikeouts came against West Virginia on April 29, 2015 with a nine-strikeout effort.
  • Ridgely's 11 punch outs combined with one by John Brocklebank gave Radford its second double-digit strikeout performance of 2017.
  • The Highlanders scored 10 runs on only nine hits.
  • Jonathan Gonzalez pushed his hitting streak to 12 games with a 3 for 4 performance at the plate with two doubles, two RBIs and two runs scored.
  •  The three-hit game is his fourth on the season and eighth career.
  • He leads the team with four three-hit games and five multi-RBI performances.
  • Kyle Butler was the only other Highlander with double-digit hits, finishing with two hits, extending his hitting streak to five games.
  • With Cody Schneider's pinch hit home run, Radford has hit eight in its last five games.
  • Spencer Horwitz, Anthony Miano and Chandler Davis finished with RBIs.
  • Matt Roth finished 0 for 3 at the plate as his 11-game hitting streak came to an end.
  • The two teams combined to leave 14 runners on base.
 
QUOTABLE
  • "Obliviously, we got a good start by our Friday night guy. [Zack] Ridgely was really good tonight. He commands the strike zone, throws three pitches for strikes and competes. We needed that performance with some sickness in our bullpen. He carried some pitches and innings for us. [John] Brocklebank did a good job at the end of the game in relief. We played clean defense behind our pitching which was important for us. The middle of our order did some damage when it mattered most." ~ Radford head coach Joe Raccuia
 
ON DECK
  • Due impending inclement weather in the area on Sunday, Radford and Longwood with play a doubleheader on Saturday.
  • Game one scheduled for 2 p.m. start with game two to follow approximately 30 minutes after the final out.
  • Both games will be nine innings each.
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