BLACKSBURG, Va. – There's no April foolin' going on around here.
The Radford baseball team turned the page from a tough weekend and answered back with a dominant 8-1 victory over New River Valley rival Virginia Tech in a non-conference clash at English Field on Tuesday afternoon.
The win was a historic one for the Highlanders as it was the first victory over a ranked foe and the first win in Blacksburg since the 2015 campaign. Coming into the game, Radford was 0-32 against ranked opponents since they knocked of a nationally ranked Coastal Carolina squad all the way back on May 23, 2015.
The Highlanders were also a single ninth-inning home run by the Hokies away from shutting out Virginia Tech for the first time in the teams' 72 game series that began in 1989. The seven-run margin of victory also tied for the third biggest winning margin for Radford in the all-time series.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Radford – 8, Virginia Tech – 1
LOCATION: English Field at Atlantic Union Bank Park (Blacksburg, Virginia)
RECORDS: Radford 13-14 (3-3 Big South, Virginia Tech 20-9 (7-5 ACC)
THE BREAKDOWN
- The Highlanders got a huge day off the mound as
Breckin Nace,
Trey Ludy and
Drew Stanley keep the nationally ranked Hokie offense at bay until the offense went off for six runs in the top of the seventh to seal the victory.
- Nace got the win to improve to 2-0 on the young season. Making his first career start, the sophomore two-way standout twirled 5.1 innings of work. He allowed just three hits and no runs against to go with a punch out. To make his outing even more impressive, Nace needed just 58 pitches to get through his five-plus frames.
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Trey Ludy was a rock out of the bullpen as he went the next three innings for Radford. He let up just three hits and one earned run to go against five strikeouts.
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Drew Stanley finished off the final 0.2 innings of the win. He needed just 12 pitches to get through his two batters faced. Stanley didn't allow a hit and ended the game with a strikeout followed by a weak pop fly to seal the historic victory.
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James Ward led the way once again on offense with a 3-for-5 outing that included two RBI, one run scored and one double.
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Hunter Keen tied his teammate for the team and game high with two runs batted in. He chipped in a 1-for-4 effort that featured two RBI, two runs scored and a walk.
- Nace showed why he might be the best two-way student-athlete in the Big South and the region as he made his impact felt on the offensive end as well. To go with his standout start, Nace went 1-for-2 at the dish to tie Keen for the team and game best with two runs scored. He also drew two bases on balls.
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Eli Hudgins (2-for-5, one run, one double),
Tyler Sparrer (1-for-4, one run) and
Tyler Kehoe (1-for-2, one run, two walks) each added a RBI, respectively.
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Jhonkeanu Perez (1-for-5, one base on balls) rounded out the Radford attack with a base knock.
- To make the victory even more impressive, Virginia Tech was coming off a road series sweep of No. 16 Wake Forest this past weekend. Just hours before today's contest, the Hokies were ranked as the No. 25 team in the country by Baseball America. They were also winners of eight of their past nine games.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The game was a true pitcher's duel through the first four innings. Neither team could push a run across to score and the two sides combined for just five hits over this stretch.
- Radford finally broke the scoreless tie with two runs in the top of the fifth to take a 2-0 lead.
- The score would remain at 2-0 until the Highlanders dropped six runs in the top of the seventh. Hudgins (RBI double), Sparrer (RBI single), Kehoe (RBI single) and Keen (two RBI single) teamed up to give Radford a commanding 8-0 lead.
- Virginia Tech was able to scrap together a run in the bottom of the ninth, but by then the damage was already done as Radford cruised to the 8-1 win.
READ ALL ABOUT IT
NEXT UP
The Highlanders won't have much time to celebrate as the squad takes to the road for a non-conference showdown at East Tennessee State on Wednesday, April 2. First pitch is set for 5 PM ET from Thomas Stadium and the contest will be
played in front of a national audience on ESPN+.
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