Highlanders Hammer Bucs To Close Out Regular Season
Radford to face Coastal Carolina in Big South Championship First Round

RADFORD, Va.--Radford scored 15 runs on 20 hits to close out its regular season with a 15-3 Big South Conference victory over Charleston Southern Sunday afternoon at Dedmon Center Park. (Box Score)

The win locks the Highlanders (23-28, 14-10 Big South) into a Big South Championship first-round matchup with Coastal Carolina at 3:00 pm on Wednesday. RU’s actual seed will be determined by the outcome of Sunday’s Winthrop-UNC Asheville game. The Buccaneers (24-32, 11-13 Big South) will be the sixth seed and will face top-seeded Birmingham-Southern at 11:00 am on Wednesday in the first round.

RU starter Josh Deaver (2-4) picked up the victory. He threw seven complete innings, allowing three runs on seven hits while striking out four. Relievers Brett Smith and Robby Bursey each threw one inning, allowing no runs on no hits. After Deaver gave up the three runs in the first inning, the Highlander pitching staff shut down the Bucs, allowing just four hits and six baserunners in the final eight innings. CSU starter Jordan Haar took the loss. He threw 3 2/3 innings, allowing six runs on eight hits, striking out four.

Charleston Southern opened the game with a big first inning, tallying three runs. Shortstop Billy Dalton singles up the middle to lead off. After catcher Brad Woods singled up the middle, Haar hit a sacrifice fly that scored Dalton. Another single up the middle, this one by centerfielder Jay Reynolds, scored Woods and leftfielder Brian Sole, who was hit by a pitch to reach first. Radford responded with two runs in the bottom of the first. Shortstop Stuart Ritchie hit a two-out single to center field. A double by first baseman Mark Fleisher moved Ritchie to third. Leftfielder Kellen Wohlford then single to right field, plating Ritchie and Fleisher.

RU took the lead in the bottom of the fourth. Wohlford led off with a double to centerfield, followed by a single to right field by third baseman Shaun House. Catcher Dean Altavilla ripped a home run over the rightfield fence to give RU a 5-3 edge. Centerfielder Jesse Ross, who reached on a single, stole second, and then scampered to third when the attempt to throw him out trickled into centerfield. Ross was awarded home when the throw from centerfield entered the visitor’s dugout.

The Highlanders tallied two runs each in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings, starting with Wohlford, who led off the fifth with a single through the right side. After Wohlford stole second, House hit an RBI single up the middle to score Wohlford. Altavilla followed with a single, and designated hitter John Vellines hit into a double play that allowed House to score. House doubled in the sixth to score Fleisher, who had reached on a double. Altavilla then singled down the left field line to score House. Matt Mantione, who reached on a double in the seventh, scored on an error that allowed Ross to reach first and advance to third. Ritchie then grounded out to score Ross.

RU completed the scoring in the eighth when Wohlford led the inning off with a solo homer to left center field. Four batters later, Mantione hit a homer to left field, scoring Vellines who had been hit by a pitch. The victory gave RU 14 Big South wins, its most in Conference play since coach Lew Kent’s first year when the Highlanders went 17-7 in League play.