RADFORD FACES PRESBYTERIAN IN BIG SOUTH WEEKEND SERIES

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SETTING THE STAGE

Opponent: Presbyterian
Series: Radford leads 13-5
Location: Carter Memorial Stadium (Radford, Va.)
Presbyterian won the 2017 regular season series, before Radford handed the Blue Hose a 9-2 loss in the tournament championship game.
Radford will host Presbyterian for the first time since 2012, marking only the third the Highlanders have played host to the Blue Hose since 2009.
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ON THE HILL
Friday, April 27 – 7 p.m.
LHP Hunter Williams (1-3, 4.81) vs. RHP Tanner Chock (2-2, 4.27)
Saturday, April 28 – 4 p.m.
RHP Austin Ross (6-4, 3.45) vs. RHP Will Smith (2-3, 6.23)
Sunday, April 29 – 2 p.m.
RHP Ryan Sande (1-1, 3.95) vs. RHP Jackson Dean (0-2, 4.50)

HIGHLANDER HIGHLIGHTS

Current record: (17-23) | Home: (7-8) | Away: (10-13) | Neutral (0-2)
Big South (8-10)
Streak: L1
Radford was limited to two hits in a 2-0 loss to ETSU on Wednesday night. The Highlanders were shutout for only the third time on the season and first since March 3.
Despite being held to two hits, Radford only struck out seven times. Garrett Matheny (double) and Colby Higgerson (single) were responsible for the two hits.
Luke Wise returned to the Radford lineup for the first time since March 4 after being sidelined with a thumb injury, walking three times in the leadoff spot. The three walks were the only Radford walks of the game.
Radford's pitching staff combined to strikeout double-digit batters for the sixth time on the season as starter Mack Krupp punched out a career-high eight batters in 5.2 frames.
Averaging 5.6 runs per game, Radford is hitting .227 in RBI opportunities, picking up 26 hits in the situation over the last 10 games.
Radford leadoff batters have reached base safely 41.8 percent of the time this season. The Highlanders have placed at least six leadoff guys on base 11 times on the season.
Six different Highlanders have double-digit RBIs on the season with Matt Roth leading the way with 28. Joining Roth with 20-plus RBIs is Spencer Horwitz (27), Kyle Butler (22) and Higgerson (21).
Butler saw his 25-game on-base and 14-game hit steak come to an end on Wednesday with a 0 for 4 day at the plate.
With 17 of his 28 RBIs coming in the last 14 games, Roth saw his 13-game hit streak come to an end as well on Wednesday.
Also, losing a streak was Carlin Christian in an 18-game on-base streak.
Andrew Szamski, Butler, Szamski and Horwitz lead the Highlanders with five multi-RBI games.
In his last 95 games played, Kyle Butler has 39 multi-hit games with 16 this season to lead the team.
Roth follows Butler with 14 multi-hit games, seven of which have come in the last 14 games.
Hitting .261 as a team in Big South play, Roth holds a .338 average with 23 hits in 68 at bats. Roth leads the way with eight doubles and 18 RBIs.
Five different Highlanders have double-digit RBIs in league play as Horwitz follows with 16.
Horwitz and Matheny combine for 10 of Radford's 17 home runs in Big South games.
Radford has tallied 96 extra-base hits on the season, ranking 20^th nationally with 14 triples.
As a team, Radford has 30 sacrifice bunts, ranking 33^rd nationally. Higgerson has three games with two sacrifice bunts as his seven sac bunts is tied for 57^th in the country.
On the base paths, Radford is 61 for 89, which ranks as second most steals in the league.
A week ago, Radford went 8 for 10 with six Highlanders swiping a base.
Fourteen different Highlanders have swiped a base this season with 10 swiping three-plus.
Butler is one of 11 Big South players to swipe 10-plus bases as he is 11 for 14 on the base paths.
Opposing teams have outscored Radford 34-15 in the first inning, while the Highlanders have battled back in the second with a 33-20 edge. Radford has plated 40 runs in the fourth for the most in any frame.
Highlander pitchers have struck out a Big South low 246 batters in 355.0 frames.
After allowing 11 hits in 23 at bats to Virginia on April 11, Radford has held opposing southpaws to a 16 for 93 in the last eight games. On the season, opposing left-handers are hitting .249 against Radford pitching.
Of Radford's weekend rotation, two rank in the Big South's Top 10 in ERA. Austin Ross ranks fifth with a 3.45 ERA, while Ryan Sande is 10^th with a 3.95 clip.
With 49 strikeouts in 47 innings with only 10 walks, Ross leads the conference with a 4.90 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
He is second in the league with 1.91 walks allowed per nine innings, while ranking 66^th nationally with a 1.02 WHIP.
With a 3.31 ERA in Big South games, Ross is holding opposing bats to a .220 average, while Friday night starter Hunter Williams holds opposing conference teams to a .233 clip.
In six Big South appearances out of the bullpen, Kyle Palmer holds a 0.90 ERA in 10 innings, earning three saves for second in the league.
As a team, Radford possesses a 4.99 ERA in Big South play, limiting opponents to a .248 average.

SCOUTING PRESBYTERIAN

Current record: (13-30) | Home: (8-13) | Away: (4-14) | Neutral (1-3)
Big South: (6-12)
Streak: L4
Presbyterian has one win in its last 10 games, knocking off South Carolina 7-4 on April 17.
The Blue Hose last Big South win came on April 7 at UNC Ashville as Presbyterian took the series.
Presbyterian has series wins over UNC Asheville, Liberty and Charleston Southern.
Ranking third in the league with a .269 average, Presbyterian is led by AJ Priaulx (.385) and Johnathan White (.363). The duo ranks first and third in batting average in the league.
The duo is also the only two players in the league with over 60 hits. Priaulx is 11^th in the country with 65 hits and White ranks 31^st with 61 base knocks.
Priaulx leads the team with 36 RBIs, ranking fifth in the Big South, while White follows with 33 RBIs.
The Blue Hose rank third in the league with 36 home runs with four players having five-plus.
Presbyterian ranks eighth in the league with a 6.31 ERA as 12 different players have made a start on the rubber.
Ryan Hedrick holds a 2.30 ERA out of the bullpen in 15.2 innings, leading the way with two saves. Grayson Stoneking commands a 3.80 ERA in 19 appearances.

ON DECK

Due to exams, Radford will not play a midweek to start the month of May. The Highlanders will return to action on May 4 with a non-conference series at Georgia Tech.
The non-conference weekend series serves as Radford's off Big South weekend.
Radford and Georgia Tech have met only one time, coming on Feb. 15, 2014 in Atlanta.
The Highlanders picked up a 3-2 victory, holding the Yellow Jackets to a mere two hits.

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