RADFORD HEADS TO LIBERTY FOR WEEKEND COMMONWEALTH CLASH

SETTING THE STAGE

Opponent: Liberty
Series: Flames lead 58-36
Location: Liberty Baseball Stadium (Lynchburg, Va.)
The Highlanders continue their eight-game road trip throughout Georgia, North Carolina and the Commonwealth.
This series will hold Big South Tournament seeding implications. Liberty is three games out of first place and Radford is currently tied for fifth place.
Since 2015, Liberty is 8-3 against the Highlanders.
Radford is looking for its first series win in Lynchburg since 2011.
Live Video (Friday | Saturday | Sunday)
Live Stats (Friday | Saturday | Sunday)

WEEKEND PROBABLES
Friday, May 11 – 6 p.m.
RHP Austin Ross (7-4, 3.34) vs. RHP Garret Price (7-2, 3.46)
Saturday, May 12 – 4 p.m.
LHP Hunter Williams (1-3, 4.84) vs. RHP Zach Clinton (6-3, 4.92)
Sunday, May 13 – 2 p.m.
TBA vs. TBA

HIGHLANDER HITS & TIDBITS

Current record: (20-27) | Home: (10-8) | Away: (10-17) | Neutral (0-2)
Big South (11-10)
Streak: L4
Radford concluded regular season play against Atlantic Coast Conference opponents with a 5-1 loss to Wake Forest on Tuesday night as the Highlanders stranded eight runners on base after collecting six hits.
The Highlanders stranded eight runners on base, leaving 30 on in the last three games.
Matt Roth led Radford with two hits, earning his 15th multi-hit game of the season with his team leading 11th double.
Radford's lone run came on a Garrett Matheny fielders' choice sacrifice bunt in the second. Wake Forest scored its five runs on six hits between the four and sixth innings.
Ten different Highlanders have double-digit RBIs on the season. Spencer Horwitz (35) and Roth (31) are the only two players with 30-plus RBIs.
Kyle Butler (27) and Colby Higgerson (24) are not far behind. Matheny's RBI sac bunt on Tuesday gives him 19 RBIs as he is one away from becoming the fifth Highlander with 20-plus.
A season ago, Radford only had three players finish with 30-plus RBIs
Roth's multi-hit game on Tuesday moves him into a tie with Horwitz for second on the team, trailing Butler's 19 games.
With a three-RBI game May 5, Horwitz leads the team with eight multi-RBI games.
Butler follows with six, while Andrew Szamski and Carlin Christian have five each.
Five Highlanders have double-digit multi-hit games through 47 games.
Radford has tallied 112 extra-base hits on the season, ranking 22nd nationally with 16 triples.
As a team, Radford has 34 sacrifice bunts, ranking 49th nationally. Higgerson has three games with two sacrifice bunts as his eight sac bunts is tied for 60^th in the country.

HARLESS NAMED BIG SOUTH FROSH OF THE WEEK

For the second consecutive week, the Big South Freshman of the Week resides in the New River Valley as Will Harless earned the honor Monday afternoon for his efforts against Georgia Tech.
The conference weekly award is the first of Harless' career and the fourth by a Highlander this season. Harless joins Garrett Matheny in donning the freshman honor as Radford is the third Big South team to earn the award in consecutive weeks.
Harless went 3 for 8 with two runs and two RBIs in three games at Georgia Tech. The Abingdon, Va., native started two games as the designated hitter and one behind the plate. The two runs scored and two RBIs came in Saturday's 11-8 loss in 10 innings.
Trailing 7-2 after six innings, Harless helped aid Radford's comeback, knotting the game at seven in the eighth on an RBI single.
He earned a team-high four walks in the three games, walking twice on Saturday and Sunday.

RADFORD WITH RBI CHANCES

Radford is 122 for 500 (.244) with runners in scoring position.
Radford was 10 for 34 in situation last weekend against Georgia Tech and 1 for 8 at Wake Forest on Tuesday.
Spencer Horwitz leads the team with an 18 for 57 effort, hitting .316 with runners in scoring position.
Following is Kyle Butler with a .300 clip, collecting 15 hits in 50 chances.
Eight Highlanders have double-digit hits in the situation.

ODDS & ENDS

Radford leadoff batters have reached base safely 40.6 percent of the time this season. The Highlanders have placed at least six leadoff guys on base 11 times on the season.
Opposing teams have outscored Radford 42-23 in the first inning, while the Highlanders have battled back in the second with a 39-22 edge. Radford has plated 41 runs in the fourth inning for the most in any frame.

INSIDE BIG SOUTH PLAY

Radford returns to conference play for the first time since completing the sweep of Presbyterian on April 29.
The Highlanders are hitting .271 as a team against conference foes, compared to .241 against non-conference arms.
Opposing Big South teams are hitting .245 against Radford's staff.
Matt Roth will look to pick up where he left off in Big South play. The junior is hitting .321 with 26 hits and 81 at bats.
Roth joins Spencer Horwitz with 20 RBIs each to lead the team in Big South games.
Seven Highlanders have double-digit RBIs, while six are hitting above .280.
Of Radford's 28 home runs, 18 have come in Big South action. Garrett Matheny and Horwitz lead the way with five each.
Leading the team with 11 doubles, Roth as collected eight in conference play as Radford has totaled 35 as a team.
Radford has left 167 runners on base in 21 Big South games.
On mound, Austin Ross holds a 3.29 ERA in 38.1 innings (eight games, six starts), possessing a .220 average against.
Ross has struck out 39 in 38.1 innings, walking only 11. The redshirt senior has collected four of his Big South leading seven wins in conference games.
The Highlanders own a 4.89 ERA in Big South play, ranking fourth the league.
Out of the bullpen, Kyle Palmer holds a 2.70 ERA with three saves in eight games.

ON THE RUBBER

As a team, Radford possesses a 5.10 ERA, ranking fifth in the conference. Limiting opponents to a .264 average, Radford is fourth in the category.
Highlander pitchers have struck out 294 in 416.2 frames, ranking ninth in the Big South.
As a team, Radford has seven double-digit strikeout games with three coming in league action.
Of Radford's weekend rotation, two rank in the Big South' top five in ERA. Austin Ross ranks fourth with a 3.34 ERA, while Ryan Sande is fifth with a 3.62 clip.
With 61 strikeouts in 56.2 innings and walking only 13, Ross is second in the conference with a 4.69 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
Winning two of his last fourth starts, Ross leads the Big South with seven wins, ranking tied 40^th nationally.
He is second in the league with 2.06 walks allowed per nine innings, while ranking third with a 1.09 WHIP.
With a 3.29 ERA in Big South games, Ross is holding opposing bats to a .220 average, while Hunter Williams holds opposing conference teams to a .240 clip.

BULLPEN GUYS

Radford's bullpen holds a 5.55 ERA, possessing 14 of Radford's 20 wins.
Austin Ross has four of the wins, while Cameron Fritz holds a 3-0 record, earning a win in three of his last five appearances.
Mack Krupp leads the way with a 2.45 ERA in 14.2 frames out of the bullpen. Fritz follows with a 3.18 clip in 22.2 innings.
Kyle Palmer has three of Radford's eight saves, striking out 22 in 24.2 frames.

HIGHLANDERS AGAINST SOUTHPAWS

Radford has fared better against left-handed pitchers through 47 games.
The Highlanders are 110 for 410 against lefties for a .268 clip.
Kyle Butler leads the way with 16 hits, while Spencer Horwitz follows with 15.
Straton Podaras boasts a .343 clip, collecting 12 hits in 35 at bats.
After allowing 11 hits in 23 at bats to Virginia on April 11, Radford has held opposing southpaws to a 40 for 191 in the last 15 games.
On the season, opposing left-handers are hitting .249 against Radford pitching.
Redshirt senior southpaw Mack Krupp has held opposing lefties to a .160 clip with eight hits in 50 at bats.
Austin Ross holds a .218 average, limiting to 17 hits in 78 at bats.

PLAYING IN THE DIRT

Radford ranks tied for third in the Big South with a .970 fielding percentage.
The Highlanders have committed 52 errors as Liberty leads the league with only 42 miscues.
In 47 games, Radford has played 19 clean baseball games.
Only 13 times have the Highlanders committed two-plus errors in a game.
Radford has turned 36 double plays, which second in the league.
Spencer Horwitz is errorless in 405 chances, while Kyle Butler has committed eight in 228 chances.

HIGHLANDERS GET AROUND THE BASES

On the base paths, Radford is 69 for 99, which is third most steals in the league.
Radford is 38 for 54 against Big South opponents.
Fourteen different Highlanders have swiped a base this season with 11 swiping three-plus.
Radford is one of three Big South teams with 65-plus stolen bases.
The 69 stolen bases rank 44^th in the country, while 1.47 steals per game mark is 43rd.
Kyle Butler and Colby Higgerson are two of 12 Big South players to swipe 10-plus bases
Radford is one of three teams with two players inside the Top 12.
Butler leads the team as he is 11 for 15 on the base paths.
Higgerson follows with 10 steals in 14 opportunities, while Garrett Matheny is 9 for 12.
As a team, Radford has six games with four-plus stolen bases.
The Highlanders are 24 for 35 over the last 15 games.

SCOUTING LIBERTY

Current record: (26-21) | Home: (17-6) | Away: (9-15)
Big South (14-7)
Streak: L5
Liberty has dropped five straight dating back to May 2, falling in midweek contests to Virginia and Duke, while being outscored 20-8 in a three-game series at St. John's.
The Flames have won their last four conference weekends.
With a .257 team average, Liberty is fifth in the Big South, however the Flames lead the league with a .389 on-base percentage.
Liberty is third in the country with 285 walks as Tre Todd leads the nation with 53 free passes.
Todd also leads the team in average (.329), home runs (10) and RBIs (47). The junior is second with 54 hits and fourth with eight doubles.
D.J. Artis follows Todd as the other Flames' player with a .300-plus average, entering the weekend with a .307 clip.
Artis is the team leader with 55 hits, 52 runs scored and 15 doubles.
With three players totaling double-digit double, Liberty leads the Big South with 85 doubles.
On the bump, Liberty boasts a 5.42 ERA, ranking seventh in the Big South.
The Flames has punched out 416 in 423.1 innings on the season, ranking 64^th nationally with 8.7 strikeouts per game.
Jackson Bertsch is the team leader in ERA with a 4.02 clip, striking out 70 in 62.2 innings.

ON DECK

Radford wraps up non-conference play on May 15 at Appalachian State in a 5 p.m., contest in Boone, N.C.
The Mountaineers won the first matchup on April 3 with a 5-1 decision in Radford.
Appalachian State leads the all-time series 12-6, winning the last three matchups.
Radford's last win over Appalachian State came on April 26, 2011 with a 3-1 victory in the New River Valley.
The Highlanders last win in Boone came on April 1, 1997 in an 8-5 victory.

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