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Hrbek-20170328
Radford Athletics Communications
3
ETSU ETSU 12-10
4
Winner Radford RAD 11-13
ETSU ETSU
12-10
3
Final
4
Radford RAD
11-13
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
ETSU ETSU 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 3 9 0
Radford RAD 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 4 9 1

W: Zurak, Kyle (2-0) L: Peyton Taylor (2-1)

Game Recap: Baseball |

HRBEK'S WALKOFF TRIPLE HANDS RADFORD 4-3 COMEBACK WIN



GAME INFORMATION
  • Score: Radford 4, ETSU 3
  • Records: Highlanders (11-13) | Buccaneers (12-10)
  • Location: Radford Baseball Stadium | Radford, Va.  

RADFORD, Va. – Senior Danny Hrbek was responsible for all four of Radford runs, while his last two RBIs came in the biggest moment of the game as he lined a two-out triple down the right field line to give the Highlanders a 4-3 walkoff win Tuesday night over border foe ETSU.
 
Trailing 3-2 with one out in the bottom of the ninth, Luke Wise battled to earn a 3-2 count and eventually a walk to put the tying run on first base. With Wise's speed on the base paths, Adam Whitacre caught Cullen Smith playing back at third base, putting a perfectly executed bunt down the line to beat the throw for an infield single.
 
Runners standing on first and second, Kyle Butler walked up to plate, carrying arguably the hottest bat in the Highlander lineup. Butler fouled a couple pitches off, but eventually struck out swinging for the second out in the inning.
 
The Highlanders most poised player on the team stepped up the plateas Hrbek took the challenge to tie the contest and force extra innings. Having already made his presence known on the mound earlier in the year, Hrbek was not about to settle for a tie, he was going for the win.
 
ETSU closer Peyton Taylor let go of a 1-0 fastball as Hrbek ripped the pitch down the right field line, bringing the Highlander faithful to their feet. Wise had no issue scoring from second as Whitacre was not far behind.
 
Receiving the green light all the way from third base coach Justin Willard, Whitacre looked like a runaway semi-truck as he rounded third base. As Hrbek rounded second, the ETSU relay throw was coming home, but wasn't in time as Whitacre slid head first for the game winning run to give the Highlanders the walkoff win.
 
Radford's first walkoff win since a Colby Higgerson RBI single on April 3, 2016 improved the Highlanders to 8-2 on the season at Radford Baseball Stadium.
 
Hrbek's first two RBIs came in the bottom of the first as Whitacre led the game off with a double down the right field line and Butler singled to right. Hrbek followed with his first extra base hit on the evening with a two-run double down the line.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
  • Win: Kyle Zurak (2-0) (2.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K)
  • Loss: Peyton Taylor (2-1) (1.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 2 K)
  • Radford commanded a 2-1 lead until the top of the eighth inning, before ETSU plated two runs on a Christian Bailey double and Blake Rowlett fielders' choice.
  • The win over the Buccaneers was the first by the Highlanders since a 7-4 win in 10 innings on March 24, 2015.
  • Four Highlanders finished with two hits each: Adam Whitacre, Kyle Butler, Spencer Horwitz and Danny Hrbek.
  • Matt Roth collected the other hit as Radford tallied nine in the contest. The single extended Roth's on-base streak to 20 straight
  • Hrbek's two hits resulted in his fourth double on the season and first triple.
  • The triple is the 11th of his career, needing only three more to match the program record set by Kellen Wohlford (2002-05).
  • Driving in all four runs, Hrbek matched a career best in RBIs. The four RBIs give him 10 on the season, becoming the sixth Highlander with double-digit RBIs.
  • The multi-RBI is only his second on the season.
  • With an 0 for 4 performance, Jonathan Gonzalez had hit 14-game hitting streak snapped.
  • Andrew Nardi turned in a strong outing in his fifth start of the season, stranding a runner on third twice in his four-innings pitched.
  • Radford received a strong showing from freshmen Colin Reid and Austin Gerber in the top of the seventh. With runners on first and third, Reid came on to face ETSU's hottest batter in Cullen Smith. Smith's safety squeeze was bunted back to Reid, who flipped on to Zach Duff at home for the tag. Following the lefty vs. lefty matchup, Geber got Hagen Owenby to fly out to center to Radford out of the jam.
 
QUOTABLE
  • "Well, we needed to win a game like that and I think it's important that your leader is the guy that does it. It's not the first-time that Danny has had a huge hit for this program. Tonight, we played clean on defense and attacked the zone on the mound. I am very proud of the way we battled back." ~ Radford head coach Joe Raccuia
 
UP NEXT
  • Radford will now head to Clinton, S.C. on Friday to face Presbyterian in its first road Big South series of 2017.
  • Radford holds a 11-3 record in the all-time series.
  • Despite meeting in the 2016 Big South Tournament, the two foes have not played one another since 2011.
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