RADFORD BEGINS STRETCH OF ROAD GAMES AT CAMPBELL THURSDAY

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RADFORD, Va. – Radford will now play 12 of its next 15 games away from the friendly confines of Radford Baseball Stadium as the Highlanders take on Campbell in a three-game Big South series starting on Thursday.

SETTING THE STAGE

Series: Campbell leads (27-20)
Location: Jim Perry Stadium (Buies Creek, N.C.)
Live Stats: (Thursday) (Friday) (Saturday)
Watch Live (Thursday) (Friday)
Listen Live (Sunday)

ON THE HILL
Thursday, April 13th – 6:00 p.m.
LHP Zack Ridgely (3-5, 3.08 ERA) vs. LHP Andrew Witczak (2-2, 9.53)
Friday, April 14th – 3:00 p.m.
LHP Danny Hrbek (2-3, 5.36 ERA) vs. RHP Alex Yarem (2-0, 3.77)
Saturday, April 15th – 2:00 p.m.
TBA vs. RHP Ryan Kirk (3-3, 5.09)

HIGHLANDER HIGHLIGHTS

Current record: (13-19) | Home: (8-6) | Away: (4-12) | Neutral (1-1)
Big South: (3-6)
Streak: L4
Locked in a 3-3 tie after four innings, Virginia Tech outscored Radford 14-3 in the final five frames as the Hokies completed the season sweep over the Highlanders in the battle of New River Valley foes on Tuesday night.
Both squads combined for 11 extra base hits, including six home runs.
Jonathan Gonzalez finished 2 for 3 at the dish with two RBIs, including a solo home run in the second for the first run of the game. The multi-hit game is his eighth on the season.
Gonzalez is now tied for sixth in the league with sixth home run, while picking up his 22^nd and 23^rd RBIs on the season.
Following with two hits, Spencer Horwitz collected his ninth two-hit game on the season.
Providing a three-run home run, Clayton Baine joins Gonzalez and Horwitz as the only players to drive in a run in the 17-6 loss.
The home run is the second on the season for Baine. He joins three other Highlanders with exactly two homers.
Horwitz continues to be one of the best with runners in scoring position. The freshman is 13 for 33 in the situation for a .394 average.
Matt Roth, Gonzalez and Horwitz have 20 hits each with runners on base.
Possessing a .361 average, Kyle Butler continues to rank third in the league in average.
In Big South play, Butler is hitting .350 with 14 hits in 40 plate appearances.
Roth and Butler have collected 39 hits apiece, which is good enough for fifth in the league.
Roth joins Butler with double-digit conference hits, going 10 for 30 in nine games.
Entering their fourth Big South series of the season, 13 different Highlanders have driven in a run during league play, including 11 with two-plus RBIs.
With 54 doubles, Radford has tallied 18 in nine Big South games. Danny Hrbek, Roth and Gonzalez lead the way with three two-baggers each.
Radford pitchers possess a 5.39 ERA on the season and a 3.76 clip in Big South play.
Having tossed 14.2 straight scoreless innings in league play at one point, Zack Ridgely comes in with a 2.25 ERA, yielding only five earned runs in 20.0 Big South innings.
During the 20 innings, Ridgely has only walked three batters, striking out 19. Opposing batters are hitting .227 off the lefty.
Kyle Zurak has been strong in three appearances, including two starts. The senior has punched out 17 batters in 12.0 innings.
Out of the bullpen, Colin Reid has dominated Big South hitters, collecting eight strikeouts in 3.2 innings. Reid has allowed only one hits, possessing a .077 opposing batting average.
Radford is third in the conference in batters struck out looking with 67.
In 277 innings, Radford has given up only 111 free passes to opposing batters, ranking 98^th in the country with 3.61 walks allowed per nine innings.
Walking only seven batters in 49.2 innings, Ridgely ranks 36^th in the land with a 1.27 walks allowed per nine innings clip.
Campbell sports 18 right-handed batters on its roster. John Brocklebank and Mack Krupp have been extremely effective against righties on the season. Krupp has held right-handed batters to a .138 average, allowing only four hits in 29 at bats. Brocklebank follows with a .192 clip, giving up only five hits in 26 chances.

SCOUTING CAMPBELL

Current record: (16-17) | Home: (9-10) | Away: (7-5) | Neural (0-2)
Big South: (5-4)
Streak: L2
Playing a day before the conference series opener, Campbell allowed three late runs, dropping a 12-10 content to visiting Duke.
The Fighting Camels were outscored 8-1 in the final five frames.
Cole Hallum and Zach Minnick collected four RBIs each in the loss.
Matthew Barefoot and Hallum lead the team with 33 RBIs.
Four different Fighting Camel batters have 20-plus RBIs, totaling seven with double-digit RBIs.
Nine different players sport 20-plus hits, including five with 30-plus.
Barefoot leads the conference with 51 hits and ranks second with a .381 batting clip. He also leads the league and ranks 22^nd nationally with 14 doubles.
Three different Camels have hit seven home runs on the season: Jeff Hahs, Barefoot and Hallum.
Three Campbell players rank inside the Big South's Top 10 in runs scored. Drew Butler leads the league with 31 runs scored, while Barefoot follows with 30 runs. Hahs comes in fourth with 29 runs scored.
Offensively, Campbell leads the conference in several categories. They lead the league in hits (309), batting average (.277), doubles (67), sacrifice flies (21), stolen bases (59) and slugging percentage (.436).
Campbell leads the country in one offensive stat that may not get a lot of discussion. The Fighting Camels have been hit by 65 pitches, which tops the nation.
Hallum is fourth in the land with 14 hit by pitches.
On the mound, Alex Yarem is the Camels' best starter, holding a 2-0 record with a 3.77 ERA in 45.1 innings.
Ryan Kirk leads the team with 31 strikeouts in 40.2 innings, earning seven starts in nine appearances.
Out of the bullpen, Tyson Messer has been the best arm with 30 punch outs in 26.1 innings. Messer has held opposing batters to a .178 average.
A year removed from finishing with a 1.93 ERA and 59 strikeouts in 46.2 innings, Erik Dowse has struggled in 2017. Dowse has allowed 10 earned runs in 4.1 innings for a 20.77 ERA.

ON DECK

Radford will play its final Tuesday home game of the season on April 18, hosting Appalachian State in a 6 p.m. contest.
The Mountaineers came back for a 13-9 win on March 21.
Radford is 6-10 versus Appalachian State.

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