Stanton’s Double Sparks Virginia Tech 5-1 over Radford in Baseball

RADFORD, Va. - Chris Stanton’s RBI double to right-center in the top of the eighth scored Sheldon Adams from first and snapped a 1-1 deadlock as Virginia Tech escaped with a 5-1 victory over Radford Tuesday afternoon in non-conference baseball action from Dedmon Center Park on the campus of Radford University. (Box Score)

Stanton’s double, was one of only three hits the Hokies were able to garner off Radford starter Justin Morgan and reliever Rob Bursey, as Highlander third baseman Shaun House (4-for-4) collected four of the six RU hits on the afternoon.

Virginia Tech freshman Scott Stoehr tossed just 1.1 innings of perfect relief to improve to 3-0 on the season. Andrew Wells started for the Hokies allowing the lone Highlander run on five hits in 5.2 innings of work.

RU’s Bursey (1-3) allowed just one hit in 3.1 innings of relief of Morgan, however he was tagged with four runs, two earned, in suffering the loss. Freshman Morgan impressed in his second career start for the Highlanders, scattering two hits over 5.2 innings, with two strikeouts in a no-decision.

VT plated a run in the top of the first without registering a hit, as Stanton was hit with a pitch to lead off the game. Stanton stole second and was brought in by a pair of groundouts for a quick 1-0 VT lead.

That is the way the game would stand through the next five innings, as Radford would push a two-out run across in the sixth, when Mark Fleisher drove a Wells offering to shallow center and Brad Bauder’s made a valiant effort only to have it pop out of his glove as RU tied the game 1-1.

After a pair of Hokie runs in the top of the eighth, the Hokies added two more in the top of the ninth on a pair of sacrifice flies to left for the 5-1 final tally.

The Highlanders (10-19), winners of three of their last four, will be kicking off a 12-game home stand to end the season, and the first of four home games this week. RU will host in-state and Big South Conference rival Liberty University, in a pivotal three games series starting in Friday at 3 p.m. The series will continue on Saturday at Noon and conclude on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m.

The Highlanders and Flames are battling to finish in the top six of the league standings, as the top six seeds advance to the Big South Conference Baseball Championship to be played at Winthrop University May 21-25. Entering this weekend’s series, the Highlanders at 5-9 in conference action, stand fifth, Liberty, 4-8 in league action, is tied for sixth with Coastal Carolina for the final seed, one game in the win column back.