Six Run First Inning is All Radford Needs to Dispatch High Point 7-6 in Baseball

RADFORD, Va. – Radford University plated six runs in the first inning, two more runs in the first frame then they had scored in their previous 20 games, as the first five Highlander batters scored en route to a 7-6 victory over High Point University Saturday afternoon in Big South Conference baseball action at Dedmon Center Park. (Box Score)

Mark Fleisher (1-1) tossed seven strong innings scattering seven hits and allowing five runs, three of which were earned, to garner his first victory of the season. Brett Leiberman (0-2) came in for the final two-outs of the game, both strikeouts, to earn his league leading fifth save. Toby Hoskins (1-2) last just one-plus innings allowing six runs, all earned, on six hits to suffer the loss for HPU.

Offensively, the Highlanders collected all six hits in the first frame, as Phil Leake and Travis Motsinger held RU hitless over the final seven innings. Leake, was the most impressive allowing one run while striking out five over 5.2 innings of hit-less ball.

In the Highlander first, leadoff batter Nat Hodges reached via hit-by-pitch, only to be followed by four straight singles quickly making it 3-0. Mike Tarbox followed Scott Gvozdas’s sac bunt, with a two-run single up the middle for a 5-0 lead. Advancing to second on the thow to the plate, Tarbox moved to third with a stolen base and scored on Shaun House’s single up the middle for a 6-0 lead.

The Panthers started chipping away at the RU lead as Jayson Hoffman, who’s double delivered the game winning run in the 10th inning yesterday afternoon, put High Point on the board in the second, with a two run double to right field scoring Kemp Smith and Ken Keesee making it 6-2 Highlanders.

The Panthers cut the RU lead to 6-3 in the third, scoring an unearned run on a dropped pop up to second while an RU error in the fourth gave HPU another unearned run and pulled the Panthers within two- 6-4. A bunt base-hit by Ray Rojas and an RBI ground out to short by Nick Thompson

The Highlanders would add a much needed insurance run in the sixth as Shaun House led off the inning with a walk and scored on a wild pitch to give RU a two-run cushion, 7-5.

The Highlanders and Panthers play the final game of the three game series, tomorrow here at Dedmon Center Park. First pitch schedules for 1 p.m.