BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. – The Radford baseball program returned to the win column with a complete 4-1 team victory over Gardner-Webb in game two of the Big South series at Henry Moss Stadium on Saturday.
The Highlanders did it across all aspects of the game with dominate pitching, timely hitting and a strong defense that didn't record a single error.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Radford – 4, Gardner-Webb – 1
LOCATION: Bill Masters Field at John Henry Moss Stadium (Boiling Springs, North Carolina)
RECORDS: Radford 15-19 (4-7 Big South), GWU 15-21 (5-6 Big South)
THE BREAKDOWN
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Andrew Steinhaus stepped into a huge role as the Radford starting pitcher was forced to be pulled in the bottom of the second. Despite being out of his normal starter rhythm, Steinhaus entered the game and took over with 6.1 standout innings of work. He allowed just seven hits and no runs to go against eight strikeouts. The eight punch outs were the most recorded by the sophomore hurler in his collegiate career. It was also tied for the 11th most posted by a Big South student-athlete in a single game so far this season.
- Eight different Highlanders had at least one base hit in the contest and three student-athletes finished with multi-hit efforts.
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Hunter Keen did a little bit of everything as he put up a 2-for-5 outing that included a game-best two runs scored. He also added a double, a triple and a RBI in the win.
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Tyler Sparrer continued to swing a hot bat with another 1-for-4 performance. His day included a RBI, which brought his total up to six over the first two contests of the series, to go with a stolen base.
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Breckin Nace finished with the other Radford RBI in the game. He went 1-for-4 at the dish to go with his aforementioned RBI and a base on balls.
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Jhonkeanu Perez (2-for-5) and
James Ward (2-for-3) both came around to score a single time, respectively.
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Eli Hudgins (1-for-3, one steal),
Tyler Kehoe (1-for-4, one stolen base) and
Mason Self (1-for-4, one double) rounded out the Radford attack.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Radford once again got the scoring started as Nace poked a single through the left side to plate Keen to give the Highlanders an early 1-0 lead.
- Keen kept the good vibes rolling with a RBI double of his own in the top of the third to make it a 2-0 game. Radford was able to push another run across in the frame off a Bulldog fielding error to take a commanding 3-0 lead.
- The Highlanders added another run of insurance in the top of the fifth as Sparrer blasted a single through the right side to score Ward to push the Radford advantage to 4-0.
- The two sides settled down through the following four innings as runs became a premium in the contest. Neither side scored as the Highlanders took a 4-0 lead into the final inning.
- Gardner-Webb was able to scrape a run together in the bottom of the ninth, but Radford wasn't having anything else to seal the 4-1 victory.
NEXT UP
Radford and Gardner-Webb will meet in the rubber match on Sunday, April 13 to decide the series. First pitch is set for 1 PM ET at Henry Moss Stadium. The conference clash will also be
played in front of a national audience on ESPN+.
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