RADFORD, Va. – Three things are promised in life. Death, taxes and not counting the Radford baseball program out of any game during the 2025 campaign.
It proved to be the case once again as the Highlanders posted their second instant classic of the weekend with five runs in the bottom of the ninth to stun Winthrop, 12-11 in a Mother's Day Big South thriller inside Sherman Carter Memorial Stadium on Sunday afternoon. To make the win even more special, the epic comeback came on Senior Day in a memory the Radford student-athletes, their families and Highlander nation will remember forever.
The weekend series sweep improved Radford to 13-8 in conference play and the Highlanders locked themselves into the No. 3 spot for the upcoming Big South Tournament, the squad's first post season appearance since 2019. Radford can finish as high as second but no worse than sixth in a jam-packed race to the finish as the calendar turns to the last week of the regular season.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Radford – 16, Winthrop – 9
LOCATION: Sherman Carter Memorial Stadium (Radford, Virginia)
RECORDS: Radford 27-23 (13-8 Big South), Winthrop 27-25 (11-10)
THE BREAKDOWN
- It was
Breckin Nace's turn to lead the offense with a 2-for-4 afternoon that included one home run, a team and game best four RBI and a run scored.
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Corbin Grantham played the role of hero as the senior went 2-for-5 with three runs batted in and two doubles. His bases-clearing double in the bottom of the ninth sealed the comeback victory for the Highlanders.
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Mason Self continued his hot series with another homer off a 1-for-5 showing. He also chipped in a run scored.
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Jhonkeanu Perez was perfect with a 4-for-4 day at the dish. He scored a team and game high three times to go with two doubles, a walk and a stolen base.
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Hunter Keen added a run batted in off a 2-for-5 effort. He also came around to score a single time and finished with a double.
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Brady Whitacre, also a senior, had a huge game at the plate in his start behind the dish. He posted a 3-for-5 outing with a RBI and a run scored.
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James Ward continued to chip away at history with another 2-for-4 contest. His afternoon featured two runs scored and a RBI, his 55th run batted in of the season. He now sits tied for fifth all-time in school history for RBI in a single campaign and is just five away from taking over the program record.
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Tyler Kehoe (1-for-5, one run) and
Noah Toole (one run scored) also contributed in the thrilling win.
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Matthew McGovern made the most of his opportunity as he scored the game-winning run.
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Andrew Steinhaus picked up the win on the mound, his fourth of the season, with a perfect frame in the top of the ninth.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Winthrop jumped out to a 5-1 lead after the first two innings of play. The lone Radford RBI was driven in by Nace as the Highlanders looked to battle back.
- Radford was able to chip away with another run in the bottom of the third off a sacrifice fly by Ward to make it a 3-2 game.
- Madness broke out between the sixth and eighth innings.
- The Eagles added two more runs in the top of the sixth with an inside the park home run to push ahead 7-2.
- Radford responded with a run off a Whitacre RBI single up the middle in the bottom half of the frame to keep it close at 7-3.
- Winthrop thought it pulled away for good with three more runs in the top of the eighth to take a commanding 11-5 advantage.
- As has been the case all season, this Radford squad doesn't know quit as the Highlanders got right back in it with two runs of their own in the bottom of the inning to make it a 11-7 contest. For the second straight day, Self sent a towering shot over the left center field fence to keep Radford in it.
- Nace got the party started in the bottom of the ninth with a two-run homer to make it just a two-run game at 11-9.
- Ward and Kehoe then laced singles which was followed by a Winthrop fielding error to load the bases with just one out.
- The next Highlander hit a short shallow fly to left that wasn't deep enough to move the runners over for the second out of the inning.
- It was then Grantham's time to play the hero as he ripped a double on a two-strike count into the left field gap that cleared the bases. Both Ward and Grantham came around to score, and in an important move, McGovern came in to pinch run and flew around the bases to easily score from first to seal yet another instant classic for Radford.
NEXT UP
Radford returns right to the diamond with a non-conference showdown at Queens on Tuesday, May 13. First pitch is set for 5 PM ET at The Stick Williams Dream Fields and fans
can follow along in real-time with the action here.
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