Baseball posts first Big South opening sweep since 2012 with third straight win over USC Upstate

Sunday, March 16

Spartanburg, SC

2 PM

Radford University

10-8, 3-0

USC Upstate

8-11, 0-3

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Radford	2	0	3	3	4	0	0	0	0	12	11	1
USC Upstate	0	0	3	0	0	1	1	1	1	7	10	7

Radford Baseball Series USC Upstate Sweep 2025

Photo by: Tèa Startz

Baseball posts first Big South opening sweep since 2012 with third straight win over USC Upstate

3/16/2025 8:19:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Radford baseball program brought out the brooms and notched another place in the record books as the Highlanders defeated USC Upstate for the third straight game with a 12-7 victory at Harley Park on Sunday afternoon.

With the three-game sweep complete, this Radford squad became the first group to pick up a conference opening weekend sweep since the 2012 campaign. At 10-8 on the young season, the Highlanders are off to their best to a year since 2021 and sit just a game away from matching that unit's 11-8 beginning to the season.

The Radford offense slugged its way to a 28-17 run differential over the three wins.

THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Radford – 12, USC Upstate – 7
LOCATION: Cleveland S. Harley Park (Spartanburg, South Carolina)
RECORDS: Radford 10-8 (3-0), USC Upstate 8-11 (0-3)

THE BREAKDOWN
- It was Hunter Keen's turn to have a monster day with a 3-for-6 showing to go with a game-best four runs scored and a double. The four runs were the most recorded by a Big South student-athlete in a contest so far this season.
- James Ward kept the power surge going with another home run, his third in two games, off a 1-for-5 afternoon. He finished with three RBI and two runs scored.
- Noah Toole also blasted a dinger to highlight a 1-for-4 effort. He chipped in two RBI, came around to score once and also drew a base on balls.
- Tyler Sparrer added two RBI of his own off a 1-for-4 performance.
- Mason Self (1-for-5, one run scored, one double) and Corbin Grantham (1-for-3, one run) also chipped in one RBI for the Highlanders apiece, respectively.
- Jhonkeanu Perez (1-for-4, two runs scored, one walk) and Eli Hudgins (2-for-5, one run) rounded out the well-balanced Radford scoring attack.
- It was the fourth game already this season that the Radford offense has finished with 12-plus runs.
- Eight different student-athletes finished with at least one hit in the win.

HOW IT HAPPENED
- Like yesterday, Radford again got started right out of the gate with a two-run top of the first.

??1?: Got Mother Nature on our side ??@MasonSelf23 drives a RBI double + the Highlanders push another run across later in the frame to drop ?? in their first ABs

??? - ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/2VQyP8vhBJ
— Radford Baseball (@RadfordBaseball) March 16, 2025

- The Highlanders extended their advantage to 5-0 in the top of the third, highlighted by a Toole two-run blast.

??3?: Doing it with the ?? + ??@BigT__32 with a beauty of a bunt on the squeeze play for his second RBI of the afternoon!

??? - ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/Yq2snDNuWl
— Radford Baseball (@RadfordBaseball) March 16, 2025

??3?: A little ??? can't cool us off ??@noahtoole06 puts a two-run shot over the scoreboard!!!

??? - ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/TnVbryR6kB
— Radford Baseball (@RadfordBaseball) March 16, 2025

- USC Upstate showed some fight and pushed three runs across in the bottom half of the frame to get back in it at 5-3.
- Radford wasn't having any of that with three more runs in the top of the fourth and an addition four more in the fifth to jump out ahead with a commanding 12-3 advantage.

??4?: ONE OF THE HOTTEST HITTERS IN @NCAABaseball??@jward2232 does it ?????????? with his third homer over the last two days! ??

??? - ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/bpr2rGhQiR
— Radford Baseball (@RadfordBaseball) March 16, 2025

??5?: Keep 'em coming ??

Can't bring the infield in on Grantham ??

??? - ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/0JtuMP6rmF
— Radford Baseball (@RadfordBaseball) March 16, 2025

??5?: Foot. Meet. Gas. ??

Keen adds to the rout with an opposite field poke to make it a 9?-run game!!

??? - ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/9Ga2d5DJ58
— Radford Baseball (@RadfordBaseball) March 16, 2025

- The Spartans scored a single run in the sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth, but by then the damage was already done as the Highlanders sealed the 12-7 win.

SPRING BREAK 2025 ?? pic.twitter.com/gYiyu3VhSn
— Radford Baseball (@RadfordBaseball) March 16, 2025

NEXT UP
Radford remains on the road for a mid-week showdown against North Carolina A&T on Wednesday, March 19. First pitch is set for 6 PM ET from World War Memorial Stadium in Greensboro, North Carolina. The contest will be played in front of a national audience on FLO College.

GET IN THE GAME: FOLLOW RADFORD BASEBALL
Get in the game and get New River City made by staying up to date with the latest from Radford baseball through @RadfordBaseball on X, @radfordbaseball on Instagram, Radford Baseball on Facebook and subscribe to the Radford Athletics YouTube channel.