Radford takes series with 10-0 victory

HIGHLANDERS WIN SERIES WITH DECISIVE 10-0 VICTORY ON SUNDAY

RADFORD, Va. – Freshman right-hander Tyler Costello threw eight scoreless innings and Matt Mollenhauer's fifth-inning home run snapped a scoreless tie and sent Radford University to a 10-0 victory over the Bryant University baseball team Sunday afternoon at the RU Baseball Stadium.

After dropping Friday's series opener, the Highlanders (8-8) came back to win the final two games over the Bulldogs (4-8), winning the weekend series, 2-1.

The Bulldogs walked a tight rope all afternoon, escaping bases loaded situations in two of the first four innings. In the second, the Highlanders filled the sacks with a two-out rally. Cory Turner singled to left and Dan Wright walked to load the bases but Bryant starter, Craig Schlitter (Guilford, Conn.) got Josh Gardiner to pop out to second base to end the threat.

Radford had an even better chance to get on the board in the fifth but the Black and Gold did not break. Matt Mack, Phil Bondi and Turner started the inning with consecutive singles to load the bases for Wright. He rolled a ground ball to short and junior Dan Muscatello (Hopkinton, Mass.) alertly threw home to force out Mack who got a bad jump off of third. Schlitter struck out Gardiner looking for the second out and the Bulldogs got out of the inning as Bondi was caught stealing home. Bondi had a great jump from third but Mike DelPonte (Tewksbury, Mass.) caught Schlitter's pitch and then dove forward to apply the tag.

The Highlanders finally broke the scoreless tie in the fifth. Zach Costello beat out a ground ball to deep short to start the inning and Brett Mollenhauer followed with a two-run home run over the right field wall. Radford kept the pressure on in the inning, plating another more run. Jeff Kemp reached on a throwing error, stole second and then scored on an RBI single from Bondi. Schlitter induced a pop out and fly out to limit the damage.

Radford kept the bats going the following inning, tacking on two more runs in the sixth. Following a leadoff walk to Gardiner, Zach Costello doubled to deep center to score Gardiner and then crossed the plate on a sac fly from Kemp to make it 5-0 Radford. An infield error kept the inning alive for the Highlanders and they took advantage. With runners on the corners, Bondi plated his second run of the afternoon with a single to left to make it 6-0.

They put the game away with four runs in the eighth. Blake Sipe, Josh Reavis and Hunter Higgerson all had run-scoring doubles in the inning.

 Making just his third career start, Costello took advantage of the run support and twirled a masterpiece. Costello allowed singles in each of the first three innings but was able to work around any trouble. He allowed a leadoff single to start the game but retired the next three hitters to end the inning and worked around a two-out single in the second. He got even better after the Highlanders scored three runs in the fourth. He allowed a leadoff single to sophomore Joseph Carcone (New Hartford, N.Y.) but responded by setting down the next nine Bulldogs in order.

Bryant's best chance to score came in the fifth inning. Carcone's single started the inning and freshman Carl Anderson (Sudbury, Mass.) moved him to second with a sac bunt. Carcone would move to third on a ground out but was left there on a fly ball to center.

The Bulldogs received hits from six different players with junior Kevin Brown (Northborough, Mass.) picking up his sixth hit of the series with an eighth-inning double. He finished the weekend 6-for-14 with two home runs, a triple, double, four RBI and four runs scored. Schlitter pitched well but fell to 0-3, allowing five runs (four earned) on nine hits in five-plus innings of work. Freshman left-hander Trevor Lacosse (Watervliet, N.Y.) allowed one unearned run over two innings of relief.

Mollenhauer, Bondi and Turner all had three hits on the afternoon for Radford, with Mollenhauer, Bondi and Reavis adding a pair of RBI each. Chase Lemaster finished off the shutout with a scoreless ninth.

The Black and Gold continue their eight-game southern trip with a Tuesday afternoon matchup with Liberty in Lynchburg, Va. Tuesday's first pitch is scheduled for 3:00 p.m.