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
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James Ward had a standout day with a 3-for-5 effort that included two home runs, four RBI and two runs scored.
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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.
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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.
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Breckin Nace drew two walks and came around to score both times.
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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.
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Noah Toole (2-for-4, one walk) and
Matthew McGovern (1-for-4, one run, one steal) rounded out the Radford attack on offense.
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Joshua Milleville got the win on the mound, his first of the season, with five innings of work.
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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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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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