Liberty Completes Weekend Sweep of Highlanders With 14-6 Victory

RADFORD, Va. - Liberty University completed a three game Big South Conference baseball sweep of Radford with a 14-6 victory Sunday afternoon at Dedmon Center Park on the campus of Radford University. (Box Score)

Liberty, behind a 4-for-5, home run, three RBI day by Chad Bryan, banged out 16 hits on the afternoon to complete the sweep and improve to 14-28 overall and 7-8 in league play. The Highlanders fell to 10-23 overall and 5-12 in conference action.

Liberty starter Billy Daniels improved to 5-2 on the season, tossing six innings, allowing five runs on six hits. Radford starter Cory Koliscak (0-5) was tagged with the loss allowing eight run on eight hits in 3.1 innings.

Jeremiah Boles added three hits, while Josh Carter, Daniel Bote and Doug Bechtold each chipped in with a pair in the victory of the Flames. Shaun House collected his second four hit game in a week, posting a 4-for-4 afternoon, with a home run and an RBI for the Highlanders. Stuart Ritchie, Scott Gvvodas and Dean Altavilla each had two hits for RU.

Liberty wasted no time jumping on Radford, posting a 10-2 lead through four, with a single run in the first, two in the second, one in the third and six in the fourth. In the first inning, Larry Wayne York leadoff the contest with a double down the right field line. He was moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by Bechtold and came in to score on Boles single up the middle.

A one out walk and a single to right set up Derek Cantrell’s two-run double to right giving Liberty a 3-0 lead trough two innings. The Highlanders got one of the runs back in the bottom of the second on an RBI double by Gvozdas. A solo home run by Bryan in the third, pushed the Flames lead to 4-1.

That was as close as the Highlanders could get as the Flames sent 11 batters to the plate in the top of the fourth scoring six runs to break the game open 10-1. In the Flames decisive inning, Bryan, Bote, Cantrell, Bechtold, Boles and Carter each collected RBI singles.

The Highlanders would get one run back in the bottom of the fourth when Kellen Wohlford lead off the inning with a double and came in to score on House’s single up the middle. RU added a pair of runs in the fifth with a Altavilla solo home run and a Ritchie RBI single. Both teams plated runs in the fifth while Liberty added three runs in the seventh for a 14-5 lead. RU added one in the bottom of the seventh for the final 14-6 score.

The Highlanders will take the next week off before returning to action on Tuesday, May 6, when they host nationally ranked Richmond at 2 p.m.