William & Mary Edges Highlanders

RADFORD, Va. -- Radford surrendered two runs in both the seventh and eighth innings to drop a 7-6 non-Conference tilt against William & Mary Wednesday afternoon at Dedmon Center Park. (Box Score)

The Tribe (26-25) scored two runs in the seventh inning when catcher Mike DeCarlo doubled to left center, scoring second baseman Will Rhymes and third baseman Greg Sexton. Trailing by one following the seventh, William & Mary scored twice in the eighth, tallying the first on a wild pitch that scored first baseman Jeff Lunardi to tie the game. A sacrifice fly by left fielder Jon Rhymes plated pinch runner Paul Juliano for the game-winning run.

Radford (13-36) had taken an early lead in the first inning, scoring four runs off of William & Mary starter Sean Grieve. After third baseman Jesse Ross and second baseman Alan Ashworth led off the first with a pair of singles, first baseman Mark Fleisher hit his ninth home run of the season to give Radford a 3-0 lead. Two batters later, designated hitter John Vellines hit his second homer of the season, a solo shot to left center that chased off Grieve after just 2/3 of an inning.

William & Mary closed to within one in the top of the third, scoring twice on a Will Rhymes double that plated Sexton and Jon Rhymes.

Radford responded with two runs in the bottom half of the inning when left fielder Kellen Wohlford’s triple down the right field line scored Ashworth, who reached on a single. Catcher Nate Toth followed with a sacrifice fly that drove Wohlford home, giving RU a 6-3 lead that would stand until the Tribe scored its final four runs.

Ashworth, the only Highlander to score multiple hits, was 3-for-4 to pace Radford at the plate. Fleisher tallied three RBI in the loss. Michael Schurz (0-3) took the loss for Radford, throwing two innings, allowing four runs on four hits.

Jake Rule (4-1) earned the win for William & Mary. Rule went six innings, allowing no runs on three hits while striking out five. Sexton and Will Rhymes each went 3-for-5 to lead the Tribe. DeCarlo had three RBI and Will Rhymes had two.

Radford will close out the regular season with a critical three-game Conference series at home against VMI this weekend. RU will be playing for a spot in the Big South Tournament, which begins next week in Conway, S.C. First pitch in Friday’s series opener is set for 4:00 pm at Dedmon Center Park. William & Mary will host Towson in a three-game CAA series beginning Friday at 7:00 pm.