SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Radford baseball program bounced back in a big way as the Highlanders collected a 7-4 victory in their Big South opening game against conference foe USC Upstate at Harley Park on Friday afternoon.
At 8-8 overall, Radford is off to its best start to a season since the 2021 campaign. The conference opening win was also the first for the Highlanders since 2022.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Radford – 7, USC Upstate – 4
LOCATION: Cleveland S. Harley Park (Spartanburg, South Carolina)
RECORDS: Radford 8-8 (1-0), USC Upstate 8-9 (0-1)
THE BREAKDOWN
- It was a three-man show for the Highlanders offense in the conference opening win.
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Eli Hudgins led the charge with a 3-for-4 afternoon as he finished just a triple shy of the cycle. He blasted his first home run of his career and added three RBI and two runs scored overall.
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Hunter Keen added to the effort with a 2-for-5 outing that included two RBI.
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Jhonkeanu Perez also drove in two RBI off a 1-for-4 performance. He came around to score twice in the contest.
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Brady Whitacre (1-for-4),
Noah Toole (1-for-4, one stolen base) and
Corbin Grantham (1-for-4) all crossed the plate a single time for Radford, respectively.
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Breckin Nace (1-for-3, one hit by pitch) and
James Ward (1-for-4) also added hits in the win.
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Drew Stanley had a day on the mound with seven strong innings of work. He allowed just eight hits and four earned runs to go with two strikeouts.
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Trey Ludy picked up his first save of the season with a clutch performance. He finished off the final two innings of the game and posted two strikeouts. He did not allow a single hit or base runner as he retired all six batters he faced in a row.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- USC Upstate jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first.
- Radford started to get it rolling with a two-run top of the third to pull ahead 2-1. Keen sent a shot right up the middle to drive it two for the early edge.
- The Highlanders added another three runs in the top of the fourth off a three-run bomb by Hudgins to start to pull away at 5-1.
- The Spartans started to fight back with a run in the bottom half of the inning to make it a game once again at 5-2.
- Radford pushed across another run in the top of the fifth to extend its advantage to 6-2. Perez took advantage of a hanging breaking ball and sent it 340-plus feet the other way for the solo shot.
- USC Upstate continued to chip away with a run in both the bottom of the fifth and seventh to get back in it at 6-4.
- The Highlanders got another insurance run in the top of the ninth off a sacrifice fly by Perez that plated Hudgins to make it a 7-4 game.
- Ludy and Radford slammed the door in the bottom of the inning with three straight weak pop outs to seal the victory.
NEXT UP
The Highlanders and Spartans will do battle once again with game two of the series on Saturday, March 15. First pitch is set for 2 PM ET inside Harley Park and
the conference clash can be watched anywhere in the country on ESPN+.
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