GREENSBORO, N.C. – UNCG took a 3-2 lead in the sixth on back-to-back home runs, but Radford rallied in the final three innings to defeat the Spartans, 7-3, on Friday evening at the UNCG Baseball Stadium.
The win snapped UNCG's seven-game winning streak to start the season, which was the best since 2003.
Eddie Butler (1-0) picked up his first win of the season for the Highlanders (3-6) as he went seven strong innings and allowed three runs on just five hits, while striking out 10 batters. Jason Patten pitched two hitless innings of relief to record his first save of the season.
The Highlanders were able to lean on the strong pitching of Butler to keep the game scoreless through four innings. In the fifth, Carl Travers doubled to left center and moved to third on a sac bunt. After a walk, Brett Mollenhauer singled to center field to score Travers and make it 1-0. Jeff Kemp followed with an RBI single of his own to give Radford a 2-0 lead.
After recording just one hit in the first five innings, UNCG was able to generate some offense in the bottom of the sixth. After a leadoff walk to Kris Richards, Butler got the new two batters out on a strikeout and fly out.
Thomas Troelstrup then came up and took a 0-1 pitch high in the air to left field to knot the game at 2-2. Trevor Edwards kept the momentum going as he took the next pitch from Butler out to right field for his fifth home run of the year and gave the Spartans a 3-2 lead.
Unfortunately for UNCG, its lead didn't last long as the Highlanders had an immediate answer in the top of the seventh. With one out, Mollenhauer singled to left field and then scored when Kemp tripled to the gap in right center to tie the game a 3. Matt Hillsinger then lifted a ball to deep center field for a sacrifice fly that gave Radford a 4-3 lead.
It looked like the Spartans were going to be able to tie the game in the bottom half of the inning as they loaded the bases, but Butler got his 10th and final strikeout of the evening to get out of the inning.
Radford would add an insurance run in the eighth on a squeeze bunt and pushed two unearned runs across the plate in the ninth inning to make the final score 7-3.
The Spartans and Highlanders will meet again on Saturday at 1 p.m.
AGATE
Radford 7, UNCG 3
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Radford............. 000 020 212 - 7 13 1 (3-6)
UNCG................ 000 003 000 - 3 5 1 (7-1)
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Pitchers: Radford - BUTLER, Eddie; PATTEN, Jason(8) and TRAVERS, Carl. UNCG - Tyler Hollstegge; Dylan Hathcock(5); Lee Gilliam(6); Brennen James(7); Tyler Frazier(8); Zach Furl(8); Wes McBride(9); Adam Boghosian(9) and Trevor Edwards.
Win-BUTLER, Eddie(1-0) Save-PATTEN, Jason(1) Loss-Lee Gilliam(0-1) T-2:44 A-146
HR UNCG - Thomas Troelstrup; Trevor Edwards.
Weather: 52 and cloudy
- UNCG -
