RADFORD, Va. – The Radford baseball team dominated James Madison in a mid-week clash of Commonwealth squads as the Highlanders posted an 8-1 victory over the Dukes inside Sherman Carter Memorial Stadium on Tuesday evening.
To make the blowout win even more impressive, Radford has now recorded 24 victories so far this year, the most in a single season since 2019. The Highlanders are also still tracking to make their first post season appearance since that 2019 campaign as the squad currently sits in a tie for fourth in the Big South.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Radford – 8, James Madison – 1
LOCATION: Sherman Carter Memorial Stadium (Radford, Virginia)
RECORDS: Radford 24-21 (10-8 Big South), JMU 13-32 (6-15 Sun Belt)
THE BREAKDOWN
- In a spot usually reserved for the offense, the pitching staff stole the show in this one. The group combined to allow just four hits and one earned run. The single run tied for the fewest allowed in a game this season while the four hits set a season-best outright.
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Trey Ludy picked up the win over his four predetermined innings of work. He allowed just two hits and no runs to go with two strikeouts.
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Drew Stanley fired a perfect frame out of the pen. It took him just eight pitches to retire three straight batters.
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Andrew Steinhaus chipped in two more perfect, scoreless frames. Both Stanley and Steinhaus did not allow a single hit or earned run.
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Jaxon Kehoe closed things over the final two innings. He was charged with just two hits and one run against. His only true mistake went for a home run and he punched out two batters.
- To flip over to the offense, three Highlanders posted multi-hit efforts, three recorded multiple runs batted in and seven student-athletes finished with at least one base hit overall.
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Hunter Keen (1-for-5, one run scored),
Breckin Nace (1-for-4, one run) and
Tyler Sparrer (2-for-3, two doubles) each drove in two RBI apiece to lead the Radford attack.
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Noah Toole (3-for-4, one run, one stolen base) and
Tyler Kehoe (one steal) also knocked in a run, respectively.
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James Ward (1-for-3, one double, two walks) and
Mason Self (2-for-3, one double, one base on balls) each finished with a team and game-best two runs scored.
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Brady Powell (1-for-1) and
Jhonkeanu Perez (one stolen base, one run) contributed in the win as well.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- There were no dramatics to this one as Radford jumped right out with a four-spot in the bottom of the first. Keen (RBI single), Nace (RBI single), Sparrer (RBI double) and Kehoe (RBI on a fielder's choice) all drove in runs in the frame to give the Highlanders a quick 4-0 lead.
- Radford added another one in the bottom of the fourth off a laced RBI double by Toole to right center to make it a 5-0 game.
- Sparrer pushed the Highlander advantage to 6-0 with his second RBI double of the game in the bottom of the seventh.
- Just to make sure the contest was set, Radford added two more insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth to make it an 8-0 edge.
- It took until the third-last batter of the game, but James Madison finally scraped a run across with a solo shot with two outs in the top of the ninth to make it an 8-1 contest. While the next Duke batter was hit by a pitch, Radford sealed it with a fly out on the following at-bat.
NEXT UP
The Highlanders will get a short break from Big South play with their second-last, non-conference games of the season at Duke on Sunday, May 4. First pitch for the doubleheader is set for 1 PM ET from Jack Coombs Field in Durham, North Carolina. The two-game set will also be played in front of a national audience on ACCNX.
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