CSU sweeps doubleheader from Radford

RADFORD, VA. — The Radford baseball team dropped Saturday’s doubleheader against Charleston Southern, falling 7-3 in game one before dropping a tough 11-8 decision in extra innings in the nightcap.

GAME ONE

After surrendering an early 4-0 lead, Radford (7-29, 0-11 Big South) got on the board in the fifth inning, when center fielder Cameron Pittman drove in Avery Spencer on an RBI groundout.

In the sixth, first baseman Ryan Gilmore further cut into the deficit with an RBI double to make it a 4-2 ballgame.

However, Charleston Southern (16-18, 8-6 Big South) held the Highlanders at bay, holding the home team to just one run the rest of the way — a solo home run by Miles LeVere in the ninth inning.

LeVere was 2-for-4 on the day. Second baseman Sully Gibbs also checked in with a multi-hit game, going 2-for-3. The Highlanders had 11 hits as a team, but were hampered by seven men left on base.

Evan Truitt earned the win for the Buccaneers, pitching 4.1 innings in relief. Starter Dylan Howard went seven strong for Radford, striking out four while earning a tough-luck loss.

GAME TWO

In a seesaw affair, the Highlanders narrowly fell to Charleston Southern 11-8 in 10 innings.

In the first inning, trailing 1-0, Radford tied the game with a sacrifice fly off the bat of catcher Julian Rojas. Avery Spencer then scored from third on a rundown play, putting Radford ahead 2-1.

Later in the second, Gilmore again came up big with another RBI double. The big blast of the early innings came off the bat of Rojas, who belted a two-run homer to left center for a 5-2 lead. It was Rojas’ team-leading seventh homer of the year.

The Buccaneers then struck back with six unanswered runs to take an 8-5 lead into the 7th. However, the Highlanders didn’t waver, cutting into the deficit with an RBI single by Paul Moore and a sac fly from Spencer.

In the ninth, with his team trailing 8-7, Spencer laced a two-out RBI triple to right center field to tie the game. The Highlanders had the bases loaded, but were unable to cash in.

From there, Charleston Southern added three runs in the top of the 10th and held down the fort in the bottom half to seal the win.

Daniel Padysak was the winning pitcher for the Bucs, while Landon Higgerson took the loss for Radford.

UP NEXT

Game three of the series will get underway at 12 p.m. on Sunday. The game can be seen on ESPN+.

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