RADFORD, Va. - The Radford Baseball program hosted their first games of the season Friday afternoon in a doubleheader against LeMoyne, splitting the contests with an extra innings 8-6 loss in game one before a dominant 19-2 win in game two. 

GAME ONE 
Facing Le Moyne for just the second time in program history, the Highlanders saw themselves take the early lead 2-0 lead in game one of the doubleheader. Zack Whitacre got things started with a walk, stolen base, and reached home with a single to right by Carson Bell. Drew Biggerstaff continued his strong performance from the last series against Georgia Tech doing what he does best in accumulating RBIs as he doubled one to center field, allowing Bell to score a run of his own and marking Biggerstaff's fifth RBI on the season. 

In the fourth Scott Rouse would continue his great performance as he would leave the Dolphins hitless over two straight innings. Gavin Troutman would help extend the lead for the Highlanders with a walk before advancing to second from a bunt single by Corbin Grantham. He would finally reach home thanks to a wild pitch that extended the lead to 3-0.

Rouse wouldn't allow more than one Dolphin hit until the fifth inning, but he answered right back striking out three guys in a row leaving the runner stranded on first. 

In the sixth the Dolphins finally broke through with runners on second and third. A double to the right side of the field allowed the two runners to score, bringing Le Moyne within one of the Highlanders at 3-2. 

In the seventh, the Dolphins took the lead from the Highlanders as they added three runs in the top of the inning to lead 5-3. The Highlanders would add a run back to the scoreline thanks to a homer by Cameron Pittman to right field that would leave the Highlanders trailing 5-4. 

In the eighth, Le Moyne would tack on another to once more lead the Highlanders by two runs. Ben Williams would again inch the Highlanders closer as he walked, stole second, and a single by Hunter Keen scored Williams to make the score 6-5.

In the ninth the Highlanders would tie things up as Cameron Pittman doubled to left field and then advance to third on a sacrifice bunt by Conner Butler. Pittman then scored on a groundout by Zack Whitacre to make it 6-6 and take the game into extra innings. 

In the tenth the Dolphins would add two runs to their total making the score 8-6. The Highlanders couldn't come up with a response, ending in a loss in game one of the home opening series. 

GAME TWO
Right away in game two it was Cameron Pittman who would get things rolling in the Highlanders 19-2 rout against Le Moyne. Pittman doubled to right field to reach second, Conner Butler would follow right behind him to single one to left to give the Highlanders the early 1-0 lead. 

In the second the Highlanders would add another run to their lead as Ben Williams was the one to grab the run for the Highlanders as he singled one to left field, stole second, advanced to third and scored by single to left courtesy of Brady Whitacre. 

For the third Dylan Howard continued an electric start as he would strike out the side. Through three innings, Howard recorded strikeouts in eight of the nine outs. The Highlanders would add two more to their lead in the bottom of the inning with a groundout by Austin Stalker to drive in a run by Carson Bell. A Corbin Grantham walk with bases loaded scored Ben Williams easily to make things 4-0. 

Moving into the fourth, the Dolphins would answer with a home run of their own to make it 4-1 which snapped a streak of seven straight strikeouts by Howard. However, the Highlanders would response with six runs for themselves as Zack Whitacre was able to score from a single by Carson Bell that would open the scoring opportunity for Zack Whitacre as a throwing error by the right fielder would allow Zack to take it in for the score. A double by Austin Stalker would bring in Bell to add another run to the total. With bases loaded, Stalker would later score on a walk by Brady Whitacre. Ben Williams and Hunter Keen both tacked on to the Highlander lead after to straight wild pitches brought them back to home base. Cameron Pittman would come in with the sacrifice fly allowing Brady Whitacre to score and giving Pittman the RBI and making the score 10-1 

In the fifth Le Moyne would add to their run total for the final time of the night as they as a groundout to second base would make the scoreline 10-2. 

With bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh the Highlanders would add seven more runs to the total. With bases loaded, Hunter Keen drew a walk that would allow Mason Self to score his first run as a Highlander. A Brady Whitacre flyout would allow Breckin Nace to score his first career run and a double by Corbin Grantham would drive in Ben Williams and Hunter Keen for two more runs. A single by Jhonkeanu Perez would bring in Corbin as Conner Butler would single one as well to bring in Perez for another run. The inning was capped by a Troutman groundout which brought in Butler to make the score 17-2 

In the eighth a Corbin Grantham triple would bring in Keen and Williams to finish the second game of the day in a 19-2 Highlander win. 

NOTABLES 

• Highlighting the efforts for Radford in game 2 was left fielder Ben Williams, who went 3-for-4 recording three hits, and five runs scored which ties the single game program record which was last recorded in1998 by Chaz McGuirk.

• Highlanders' pitching crew only allowed one walk in game 2 to keep the Dolphins off the basepaths

• Radford totaled a whopping 17 RBI in the second game of the doubleheader.

 

UP NEXT  
The Highlanders are back at Sherman Carter Memorial Stadium on Sunday, Feb. 25 at 1 P.M. to conclude their weekend series with Le Moyne.
 
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