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Radford Athletics Communications
10
Radford RAD 22-28, 13-11 BSC
11
Winner Liberty LIBERTY 27-23, 15-9 BSC
Radford RAD
22-28, 13-11 BSC
10
Final
11
Liberty LIBERTY
27-23, 15-9 BSC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Radford RAD 0 0 1 0 4 0 3 0 2 10 8 1
Liberty LIBERTY 1 0 0 3 3 3 0 1 X 11 11 0

W: STAMPER, B. (4-3) L: Fritz, Cameron (3-1) S: BARKER, L. (1)

Game Recap: Baseball |

HORWITZ DRIVES IN FOUR; RADFORD'S COMEBACK FALLS SHORT AT LIBERTY

GAME INFORMATION
  • Liberty 11, Radford 10
  • Records: Flames (27-23, 15-9 Big South) | Highlanders (22-28, 13-11 Big South)
  • Location: Liberty Baseball Stadium | Lynchburg, Va.
                                      
LYNCHBURG, Va. – Despite battling back throughout the entire game, Radford was unable to complete the series sweep as the Highlanders fell just short in a 11-10 Sunday afternoon loss against Liberty in the final game of the Commonwealth clash.
 
Radford's comeback bid was powered by Spencer Horwitz's 2 for 2 day with four RBIs, three runs and three walks. The sophomore reached base safely in all five trips on the day, increasing his on-base percentage to .382.
 
Picking up two huge Big South wins, Radford now sits alone in fifth place with a 13-11 mark and is one game out of fourth place as the Highlanders conclude conference play against Campbell later in the week.
 
For the second straight day, Liberty put its first two batters on base as D.J. Artis led off with a walk and Tre Todd followed with a single into center field. The Flames took the lead one batter later on a sacrifice fly from Tyler Glazin.
 
Held to one hit through the first two frames, Radford battled back to knot the contest in the third. Will Harless opened the frame with a hit by pitch and Richard De la Cruz followed with a single up the middle. Kyle Butler singled into left-center field to load the bases with one out.
 
Horwitz battled for a seven-pitch walk, plating Harless on the bases loaded walk for the first of his game-high four RBIs. The Highlanders were unable to take the lead as Matt Roth grounded into a 5-4-3 double play to end the Radford threat.
 
Limiting Liberty to two hits through the first three frames, while striking out four batters, Radford starter Mack Krupp was touched up for three runs on two hits and three walks in the fourth.
 
The Flames took a 4-1 lead on an RBI single from Artis and two-run single by Galazin handed Liberty the three-run edge with all three runs coming with two outs.
 
Radford answered the Liberty three-run fourth with a four-run top of the fifth highlighted by two round-trippers, marking only the second time this season the Highlanders have hit two home runs in an inning.
 
De la Cruz was responsible for the first home run as he launched a 2-1 pitch over the right field fence for his first homer of the season.
 
Following walks by Luke Wise and Butler, Horwitz greeted newly entered Brady Stamper with a three-run blast to deep right-center field as his seventh home run of 2018 gave Radford a one-run edge.
 
Horwitz's four-RBI game is his fourth game with four-plus RBIs and his ninth multi-RBI game of the season.
 
Despite recording two quick outs to start the bottom half of the inning; Liberty loaded the bases with walk, single and muffed throw on a fielders' choice at second base. Artis knotted the game on a hit by pitch for his second RBI on the day.
 
The Flames regained the lead two pitches later as Todd lined a double down the right field line for a 7-5 Liberty advantage.
 
Radford received another opportunity to exchange leads as Straton Podaras was hit by a pitch to lead off the sixth and Colby Higgerson walked to put two Highlanders on base for Harless. Harless placed a sac bunt in front of the mound, setting up De la Cruz with another chance for a second straight RBI.
 
De la Cruz struck out swinging and Wise grounded out to first on a drag bunt to leave the two Highlanders in scoring position as Radford stranded eight runners on the day.
 
Liberty padded its lead in the bottom half of the frame with a Cam Locklear RBI single, Ayden Karraker RBI double and Brandon Rohrer RBI single. The three runs on three hits came with one-out as the Flames tallied seven two-out runs in the win.
 
However, the Highlanders would not go down without a fight, putting together another big inning in the seventh. Radford loaded the bases with one out on a pair of walks and a Roth single.
 
Providing two RBIs in Saturday's comeback win, Podaras lined a single off the glove of a diving Galazin at third base as the ball deflected in the opposite direction allowing two runs to score. Following a Liberty pitching change, Higgerson lifted a sacrifice fly down the right field line to score Radford's third run of the inning.
 
Radford was held without a hit in the eighth, while Artis capped off his 2 for 3 day with three RBIs and three runs scored on a two-out home run to straightaway center field. Liberty's top three in the order recorded five hits and eight RBIs.
 
Once again, Radford fought back, loading the bases with two outs in the ninth. Providing five RBIs in the first two games of the series, Harless came through with a two-out single up the middle, inching the Highlanders within one run.
 
The Highlanders were unable to find their third two-out hit on the day as De la Cruz grounded out to first base ending Radford's bid for its second straight Big South series sweep.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
  • Win: Brady Stamper (4-3) (2.0 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 3 BB, 2 K)
  • Loss: Cameron Fritz (3-1) (1.0 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K)
  • Save: Logan Barker (1)
  • Radford's bullpen tossed 11.1 innings without allowing a run until the bases loaded hit by pitch in the fifth inning.
  • Radford's offense totaled 24 runs on 27 hits with all 24 runs coming as RBIs in the series.
  • Spencer Horwitz and Richard De la Cruz finished with two-hit games.
  • Extending his hitting streak to 10 straight, Horwitz picked up his 16th multi-hit game and his ninth multi-RBI game.
  • In addition to the two hits, Horwitz earned three walks, reaching base safely in all five trips on the day. The sophomore also scored three runs.
  • De la Cruz collected a multi-hit game for the second time in the series, while collecting his third RBI of the three-game set.
  • Following Horwitz's four RBIs, Straton Podaras and Will Harless contributed two RBIs each.
  • Podaras now has five multi-RBI games, driving in four runs in the final two games of the series.
  • Harless looks to make his second run at Big South Freshman of the Week, finishing the series 3 for 8 with seven RBIs and three runs scored.
  • Andrew Szamski and Colby Higgerson earned two walks each as Radford walked nine times on the day.
  • Liberty left 13 runners on base, stranding 34 in the series.
 
ON DECK
  • Radford wraps up non-conference play on Tuesday at Appalachian State in a 5 p.m., contest.
  • 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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