RADFORD, Va. – Breckin Nace fired a gem on the mound and
Tyler Sparrer was all the offense the Radford baseball program would need as the Highlanders collected a 3-2 victory to open an important Big South series against Presbyterian inside Sherman Carter Memorial Stadium on Thursday night.
It was the fourth consecutive win for a Radford squad that is heating up at just the right time. The victory also improved the Highlanders to 6-7 in conference play and tied for fourth overall in the Big South standings. The win streak is the second longest active streak in the conference.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Radford - 3, Presbyterian – 2
LOCATION: Sherman Carter Memorial Stadium (Radford, Virginia)
RECORDS: Radford 18-19 (6-7 Big South), PC 16-20 (8-5 Big South)
THE BREAKDOWN
- Sparrer and Nace teamed up to play the heroes in the opening-game win.
- Nace twirled seven frames of one-run ball to go with four strikeouts. He needed just 88 pitches to get through his seven innings of work, a new career high for longest appearance for the standout, two-way freshman.
- Sparrer was responsible for all three Radford RBI on the other side of the ball. He went 2-for-4 at the dish overall. Over his last seven games, the Christiansburg, Virginia native has gone 10-for-25 (.400) with two home runs and 14 runs batted in.
- Despite needing only six hits in the victory, three Highlanders posted multi-hit efforts in total.
- Nace (2-for-3, one run, one walk) and
Eli Hudgins (2-for-3, two runs scored) joined Sparrer with two base knocks apiece, respectively.
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Drew Stanley picked up his third victory of the season as he finished the last two innings of the game. He allowed just two hits and one earned run to go against two punch outs.
- The Highlanders have scored first in each of their victories during the current four-game winning streak.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- As has been the case during this hot streak, Radford once again got on the board first with a run in the bottom of the second. Sparrer sent a base knock out to left field that brought around Hudgins to give the Highlanders an early 1-0 lead.
- Presbyterian tied the contest with a single run in the top of the sixth to knot things up at 1-1.
- Sparrer came through once again with a two-RBI single up the middle to plate Hudgins and Nace to put Radford back ahead 3-1 in the bottom of the eighth.
- The Blue Hose were able to scrap across one more run in the top of the ninth, but Stanley and the Highlander defense was up to the task to seal the 3-2 win.
NEXT UP
Radford and Presbyterian will get right back to it with game two of the series on Friday, April 18. First pitch is set for 4 PM ET from Sherman Carter Memorial Stadium and admission to the conference clash is free of charge. Fans can also
follow along in real-time with the game here.
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