RADFORD, Va. — The Radford baseball team was unable to hold on to an early lead, falling to East Tennessee State 9-4 on Tuesday evening at Carter Memorial Stadium.
The Highlanders (7-18) got the bats going early, scoring a pair of runs in the second inning, highlighted by first baseman
Ryan Gilmore's RBI double. After ETSU tied the game in the top of the third, DH
Garrett Pancione gave the home team the lead right back, driving in
Zack Whitacre on an RBI groundout to make it 3-2.
The big blast of the night came in the fourth inning, when third baseman
Bannon Brazell clobbered a solo home run that cleared the left field wall. It was the freshman's first home run as a Highlander, and he put his team ahead 4-2.
From there, however, it was all ETSU. The Buccaneers (12-11) rallied to score the final seven runs of the ballgame, including three in the eight inning to take the lead. Although Radford got traffic on the basepaths — once loading the bases in the sixth — they were unable to cash in.
The Highlanders got a solid start from RHP
Clay Clatterbaugh, who went four innings and surrendered two earned runs with three strikeouts. On the offensive side, Whitacre was on base three times, going 1-for-3 with a pair of walks.
Cade Carlson was the winning pitcher for ETSU, pitching 3.1 scoreless frames.
Landon Higgerson took the loss for Radford, while the Buccaneers' Andrew Cotten earned the save.
KEY STATS
- With the home run, Brazell also collected his first career RBI, going 1-for-2 with a walk.
- Higgerson struck out four batters. As a team, Radford pitchers fanned nine.
UP NEXT
Radford will return to Big South play as they travel to Boiling Springs, N.C. for a weekend series with Gardner-Webb. Friday's first pitch is set for 6 p.m. and can be streamed on ESPN+.
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