RADFORD TRAVELS TO GA TECH FOR THREE-GAME WEEKEND SERIES

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SETTING THE STAGE

Opponent: Georgia Tech
Series: Radford leads 1-0
Location: Russ Chandler Stadium (Atlanta, Ga.)
The non-conference weekend series serves as Radford's Big South off weekend.
Radford and Georgia Tech have met only one time, coming on Feb. 15, 2014 in Atlanta as part of the Battle in Midtown Classic.
The Highlanders picked up a 3-2 victory, holding the Yellow Jackets to a mere two hits.
Dylan Nelson tossed six innings of no-hit ball, yielding an earned run, while striking out six.
Patrick Marshall, Alexander Lee and Blake Sipe collected two hits each.
Josh Gardiner, Chris Coia and Marshall provided the three runs.
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Series Notes

WEEKEND PROBABLES
Friday, May 4 – 6 p.m.
RHP Austin Ross (7-4, 3.42) vs. RHP Xzavion Curry (7-2, 3.46)
Saturday, May 5 – 4 p.m.
LHP Hunter Williams (1-3, 4.84) vs. LHP Connor Thomas (5-3, 3.04)
Sunday, May 6 – 1 p.m.
RHP Ryan Sande (2-1, 3.69) vs. LHP Brant Hunter (4-3, 5.98)

HIGHLANDER HITS & TIDBITS

Current record: (20-23) | Home: (10-8) | Away: (10-13) | Neutral (0-2)
Big South (11-10)
Streak: W3
Due to exam week at Radford, the Highlanders did not play a midweek game, entering the weekend fresh after sweeping Presbyterian.
The Highlanders have won four straight Big South weekend series with two remaining on the docket.
The Highlanders outscored Presbyterian 23-15, while outhitting them 33-23.
Ten different players collected an RBI last week as Spencer Horwitz and Kyle Butler finished with four each.
Nine different Highlanders have double-digit RBIs on the season. Horwitz (31) and Matt Roth (30) are the only two players with 30-plus RBIs.
Butler (26) and Colby Higgerson (23) are not far behind.
A season ago, Radford only had three players finish with 30-plus RBIs
With 19 of his 30 RBIs coming in the last 17 games, Roth is the lone Highlander hitting over .300 on the season with a .303 average.
On March 31, Roth was hitting .230, raising his average 73 points in a month.
With a pair of two-RBI games against Presbyterian, Horwitz leads the team with seven multi-RBI games.
Butler follows with six, while Andrew Szamski and Carlin Christian have five each.
In his last 98 games played, Butler has 41 multi-hit games with 18 this season to lead the team.
Roth follows Butler with 14 multi-hit games, seven of which have come in the last 17 games.
Five Highlanders have double-digit multi-hit games through 43 games.
Radford has tallied 103 extra-base hits on the season, ranking 22nd nationally with 15 triples.
As a team, Radford has 32 sacrifice bunts, ranking 32nd nationally. Higgerson has three games with two sacrifice bunts as his eight sac bunts is tied for 47^th in the country.

WEEKLY AWARDS

Radford collected two weekly awards as Cameron Fritz became the first Highlanders named Big South Relief Pitcher of the Week and Garrett Matheny earned his first Big South Freshmen of the Week award.
Fritz earned reliever of the week after tossing 3.1 frames of perfect baseball against Presbyterian on Saturday. The junior retired all 10 batters he faced, collecting a strikeout. Picking up his first collegiate save, Fritz needed only 35 pitches in the outing.
In seven relief outings, Fritz owns a 2.33 ERA with a 3-0 record. He has yielded only two walks in 19.1 innings, holding opposing hitters to a .152 average.
Matheny led the Highlanders in hitting on the week, going 6 for 15 at the plate with two doubles and three RBIs. In the Presbyterian series, Matheny went 5 for 12 at the dish with all three RBIs.
Collecting two multi-hit games in the series, Matheny has seven multi-hit games, while picking up two multi-RBI performances.

RADFORD WITH RBI CHANCES

Radford is 111 for 458 (.242) with runners in scoring position.
Radford was 14 for 30 in situation last weekend against Presbyterian.
Kyle Butler leads the team with a 15 for 45 effort, hitting .333 with runners in scoring position.
Following is Starton Podaras with a .302 clip, collecting 13 hits in 43 chances.
Eight Highlanders have double-digit hits in the situation.

ODDS & ENDS

Radford leadoff batters have reached base safely 41.1 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 38-22 in the first inning, while the Highlanders have battled back in the second with a 36-22 edge. Radford has plated 41 runs in the fourth for the most in any frame.

INSIDE NON-BIG SOUTH PLAY

Radford is hitting .239 as a team, while foes are hitting .268 off Highlander pitchers.
Kyle Butler is 25 for 85 for a .294 clip.
Five Highlanders have double-digit RBIs with Butler leading with 13 RBIs and 14 runs.
Eight of Radford's 26 home runs have come in conference action.
Matt Roth has hit three of his five round-trippers against non-Big South foes.
Radford is 28 for 42 on the bases.
The Highlanders have only grounded into seven double plays among the 22 non-conference games.
On mound, Ryan Sande holds a 1.80 ERA in 20 innings (four starts), possessing a .176 BAA.

ON THE RUBBER

As a team, Radford possesses a 5.04 ERA, ranking third in the conference. Limiting opponents to a .257 average, Radford is fourth in the category.
Highlander pitchers have struck out a Big South low 269 batters in 382.0 frames.
As a team, Radford six double-digit strikeout games with three coming in league action.
Of Radford's weekend rotation, two rank in the Big South's Top 10 in ERA. Austin Ross ranks fifth with a 3.42 ERA, while Ryan Sande is eighth with a 3.69 clip.
With 57 strikeouts in 52.2 innings and walking only 12, Ross leads the conference with a 4.75 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
Winning two of his last three starts, Ross leads the Big South with seven wins, ranking 20^th nationally.
He is second in the league with 2.05 walks allowed per nine innings, while ranking 74th nationally with a 1.04 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 5.48 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 four appearances.
Fritz holds a 2.33 ERA in 19.1 innings, while Mack Krupp has a 1.54 ERA in 11.2 frames.

HIGHLANDERS AGAINST SOUTHPAWS

Radford has fared better against left-handed pitchers through 43 games.
The Highlanders are 94 for 351 against lefties for a .268 clip.
Matt Roth is 13 for 35 for a .371 clip, while Kyle Butler follows with 13 hits and a .302 average.
After allowing 11 hits in 23 at bats to Virginia on April 11, Radford has held opposing southpaws to a 24 for 133 in the last 11 games.
On the season, opposing left-handers are hitting .245 against Radford pitching.
Redshirt senior southpaw Mack Krupp has held opposing lefties to a .163 clip with seven hits in 43 at bats.
Austin Ross holds a .200 average, limiting to 14 hits in 70 at bats.

PLAYING IN THE DIRT

Radford ranks tied for third in the Big South with a .970 fielding percentage.
The Highlanders have committed 48 errors as Liberty leads the league with only 40 miscues.
In 43 games, Radford has played 18 clean baseball games.
Only 12 times have the Highlanders committed two-plus errors in a game.
Radford has turned 33 double plays, which second in the league.
Spencer Horwitz is errorless in 372 chances, while Colby Higgerson has only committed five in 192 chances.

HIGHLANDERS GET AROUND THE BASES

On the base paths, Radford is 66 for 96, which is second most steals in the league.
Radford is 28 for 42 against non-conference opponents.
Fourteen different Highlanders have swiped a base this season with 11 swiping three-plus.
Radford is one of two Big South teams with 65-plus stolen bases.
The 66 stolen bases rank 34th in the country, while 1.53 steals per game mark is 36th.
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, swiping two a weekend ago.
As a team, Radford has six games with four-plus stolen bases.
The Highlanders were 7 for 7 against Charleston Southern on April 20.

SCOUTING GEORGIA TECH

Current record: (24-21) | Home: (19-9) | Away: (5-12)
ACC: (11-13)
Streak: L1
Georgia Tech will play its second of three weekend series against opponents from the Commonwealth. The Yellow Jackets went 2-1 against Virginia Tech in March and will travel to Charlottesville next weekend for their final road weekend against Virginia.
With an ACC second-best .296 batting average, Georgia Tech boasts five players with a .300-plus clip.
Aiding the average is the ACC's leading hitter Chase Murray with a .377 average. Following Murray is Joey Bart with a .351 clip, ranking fifth in the league.
The duo is the only two Yellow Jackets with 60-plus hits as Bart has 61 and Murray follows with 60.
Totaling an ACC best 469 hits, Georgia Tech ranks 13^th nationally.
With seven players driving in double-digit runs, six of them have 20-plus RBIs.
Tristin English is fourth in the ACC with 45 RBIs, while leading the team with 12 doubles.
Ranking 14^th nationally with 55 home runs, Georgia Tech possesses two players with double-digit round-trippers.
Kyle McCann leads the squad with 14 home runs and Bart follows with 12 homers. The duo ranks inside the Top 30 nationally.
The Yellow Jackets are averaging 1.22 home runs per game, which also ranks 14^th nationally.
With a team ERA of 4.90, Georgia Tech is 11^th in the ACC.
The rotation is led by Xzavion Curry and Connor Thomas as the Friday/Saturday combo holds a 12-5 record and 3.25 ERA.
Serving as the Friday night guy, Curry is 7-2 with a 3.46 ERA, striking out 73 in 67.2 innings.
Thomas holds a 3.04 ERA with a 5-3 clip, punching out 89 in 74.0 frames. The 89 strikeouts rank second in the ACC and his 10.82 strikeouts per nine innings is sixth.
Surrendering only eight free passes, Thomas is fifth in the country with a 11.13 strikeout-to-walk ratio and 11^th with 0.97 walks allowed per nine innings.

ON DECK

Radford continues its stretch of games against ACC foes, traveling to Wake Forest on May 8 for a 6 p.m., contest.
The Demon Deacons won both matchups a season ago, outscoring Radford 27-9
Wake Forest leads the all-time series 8-2.

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