Baseball’s power surge continues for second straight win over USC Upstate

Saturday, March 15

Spartanburg, SC

2 PM

Radford University

9-8, 2-0

USC Upstate

8-10, 0-2

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Radford	4	0	2	1	1	0	0	0	1	9	9	1
USC Upstate	2	0	1	0	2	0	0	1	0	6	9	1

Radford Team Celebration Handshake Line 2025

Baseball’s power surge continues for second straight win over USC Upstate

3/15/2025 10:00:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The power surged continued for the red-hot Radford baseball program as the Highlanders knocked off USC Upstate for the second day in a row with a 9-6 victory inside Harley Park on Saturday afternoon.

Radford continued to add to its record-breaking start to the year with the win. It is the first time that the Highlanders have opened conference play with a perfect record of 2-0 since the 2017 campaign.

THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Radford – 9, USC Upstate – 6
LOCATION: Cleveland S. Harley Park (Spartanburg, South Carolina)
RECORDS: Radford 9-8 (2-0), USC Upstate 8-10 (0-2)

THE BREAKDOWN
- James Ward had a standout day with a 3-for-5 effort that included two home runs, four RBI and two runs scored.
- Both Mason Self and Tyler Sparrer also left the building with a homer apiece, respectively. Self went 1-for-4 with two RBI and a run scored overall, while Sparrer chipped in a 2-for-4 afternoon with two RBI and one run.
- Jhonkeanu Perez drove in the other Highlander RBI of the contest with a 1-for-3 day that featured the aforementioned RBI, one run scored and a base on balls.
- Breckin Nace drew two walks and came around to score both times.
- Brady Powell came off the bench as a pinch runner in the ninth and went on to swipe a bag and score a run in the final frame.
- Noah Toole (2-for-4, one walk) and Matthew McGovern (1-for-4, one run, one steal) rounded out the Radford attack on offense.
- Joshua Milleville got the win on the mound, his first of the season, with five innings of work.
- Trey Ludy picked up his second save of the year, and second in as many days, to close out another victory for the Highlanders.

HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Highlanders weren't messing around as the squad dropped four runs in the top of the first to take a 4-0 lead. Ward started the party with a three-run shot to left center and was followed just two batters by Sparrer who blasted his own solo home run to left to give Radford the early advantage.

??1?: Not a bad way to make it a six-game hitting streak ??@jward2232 with an absolute ??

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— Radford Baseball (@RadfordBaseball) March 15, 2025

??1?: An absolute ???????????? ???????? by @BigT__32 for his first career homer??

That ?? barely got off the ground ??

??? - ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/NAPbZMeuXP
— Radford Baseball (@RadfordBaseball) March 15, 2025

- USC Upstate tried to answer back with two runs in the bottom of the frame to make it a 4-2 game.
- Radford responded back with two runs in the top of the third off a two-run bomb by Self to push the lead back to 6-2.

??3?: We apologize to any ???, ?? or ?? in attendance@MasonSelf23 puts one into the ??????????!!!

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— Radford Baseball (@RadfordBaseball) March 15, 2025

- The Spartans once again tried to battle back with a run of their own in the bottom of the inning to make it 6-3.
- The Highlanders pushed across another run in both the top of the fourth and fifth. Perez drove a RBI single up the middle in the fourth while Ward homered once again (solo shot) to give Radford a commanding 8-3 advantage.

??4?: @JhonkeanuP wanted in on the action ??

He punches one to center for his third RBI of the series!!

??? - ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/gJCMQqbkiZ
— Radford Baseball (@RadfordBaseball) March 15, 2025

??5?: When you know, you know. ?????@jward2232 hopped up out the bed with his swag on

??? - ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/HaG7TwRKS3
— Radford Baseball (@RadfordBaseball) March 15, 2025

- USC Upstate started to chip away with two runs in the fifth and another in the eighth to try to get back in it at 8-6.
- Each time the Spartans thought they had a chance, the Highlander defense was even better with two clutch, late-game double plays to end crucial threats.

??6?: ??s on the pond no more!@willricee comes in and gets the grounder + Hunter Keen turns the pair to get Radford out of the bases-loaded jam!

??? - ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/t1K6KDL3dR
— Radford Baseball (@RadfordBaseball) March 15, 2025

??7?: ???????????? ???????? does it ??????????!! ??

??? - ESPN+@ESPNAssignDesk x #SCtop10 pic.twitter.com/chv4jWgwvB
— Radford Baseball (@RadfordBaseball) March 15, 2025

- Sparrer executed the suicide squeeze to perfection for Radford in the top of the ninth as his beauty of a bunt allowed Powell to score to give Radford an insurance run at 9-6.

??9?: Playing a lil' small ball ??@BigT__32 with the ????????????????

??? - ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/ZK4NUxBDoV
— Radford Baseball (@RadfordBaseball) March 15, 2025

- For the second straight game, Ludy came into close things out and for the second consecutive outing he forced a 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the ninth to seal the win for the Highlanders.

NEXT UP
Radford and USC Upstate will meet for the final contest of the three-game set on Sunday, March 16. First pitch is set for 1 PM ET at Harley Park and the conference clash will be played in front of a national audience on ESPN+.

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