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.
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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.
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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.
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Tyler Sparrer added two RBI of his own off a 1-for-4 performance.
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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.
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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.
- The Highlanders extended their advantage to 5-0 in the top of the third, highlighted by a Toole two-run blast.
- 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.
- 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.
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.
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