LEXINGTON, Va. – The Radford baseball program had the long ball working but ran into an even hotter offense as the Highlanders were tripped up by VMI by a 11-5 margin in a non-conference, mid-week clash at Lamore Field at Gray-Minor Stadium on Wednesday night. 
 
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Radford – 5, VMI – 11
LOCATION: Lamore Field at Gray-Minor Stadium (Lexington, Virginia)
RECORDS: Radford 14-18 (3-6 Big South), VMI 21-13 (4-5 SoCon)
 
THE BREAKDOWN
- Both James Ward and Tyler Sparrer left the building in this one.
- Ward posted a 2-for-4 evening that included a solo blast, one RBI and a run scored.
- Sparrer also went 2-for-4 with a two-run dinger to post three RBI and a run scored overall.
- Eli Hudgins chipped in a run batted in with a 1-for-3 outing. He also finished with a team best two runs scored.
- Hunter Keen added two base knocks with a 2-for-5 effort.
- Breckin Nace also came around to score in the contest.
- Mason Self (1-for-3, one walk) and Zach Paczewksi (1-for-3) rounded out the Radford attack with base hits, respectively.
- Trey Ludy fired a scoreless frame out of the pen with one punch out.
- Will Rice also added a scoreless 0.2 innings of work.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
- VMI got the scoring started with two runs in the bottom of the first to jump out to a 2-0 lead.
- Radford tied things up right away with two runs of its own in the top of the second. Sparrer sent a two-run shot over the left field fence to knot things up at 2-2.
- The Keydets pushed another run across in the bottom half of the frame to retake a 3-2 edge.
- VMI started to pull away with a run in the fourth and four more in the fifth to make it an 8-2 game.
- The Highlanders got another run in the top of the sixth off a solo shot by Ward to get back in it at 8-3.
- The Keydets dropped another three runs in the bottom of the seventh to take a commanding 11-3 advantage.
- Radford wasn't going down without a fight with two runs in the top of the eighth, but by then the damage was done as VMI sealed the 11-5 win.
 
NEXT UP
The Highlanders hit the road for a crucial Big South showdown at Gardner-Webb this weekend. The three-game set will get underway with the opener on Friday, April 11 at 6 PM ET from Bill Masters Field at John Henry Moss Stadium.

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