RADFORD, Va. ? Reggie Keen's single into right field plated Tyren Rivers as Radford defeated VMI, 4-3, in 10 innings on Saturday afternoon in Big South Conference action at the Radford University Baseball Field.
Keydet starter Chris Henderson (2-5) took the hard-luck loss, working 9.1 innings while surrendering four runs, three earned. The senior right-hander gave up a leadoff single to Rivers in the 10th inning, before the center fielder advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Brett Mollenhauer. Henderson was then lifted from the contest in favor of Sam Roberts. On the second pitch delivered by Roberts, the Highlanders (17-14, 9-6 Big South) put on a hit-and-run, and Keen's knock easily plated Rivers for the walk-off win.
“Chris Henderson pitched very, very well today,” said VMI head coach Marlin Ikenberry. “Unfortunately, we should have left him in. I was proud of how our guys competed today, it was a good college baseball game. There were several times where we needed some key hits, but we didn't get them.”
The Keydets (13-24, 7-9 Big South) made the most of just four hits on the afternoon, scoring on a two-run home run by Jordan Ballard in the fourth and his RBI double in the eighth. A.J. Yoder and Tanner Biagini each notched a hit and scored a run for VMI, who took advantage of three Radford errors.
Radford took a 1-0 lead in the second, when Will Naylor plated Nick Minter with an unearned run. Ballard's dinger gave VMI a 2-1 advantage in the fourth, marking the only runs against Radford starter Shane Pysh. The right-hander allowed just two hits through six innings, striking out seven, before giving way to Jake Quigg.
The Highlanders gave Quigg a 3-2 lead in the seventh, when Rivers plated a run with his triple before scoring himself on a ground out. VMI answered in the eighth, tying the game on Ballard's two-bagger down the left field-line.
Rivers and Keen each notched two hits on the day, accounting for half of the team's total. Over the first two games of the series, just one of Radford's 22 hits have gone for extra bases, that coming on Rivers' triple into the right-center field gap.
Jason Patten (1-2) picked up the win for the Highlanders, retiring both batters he faced in the 10th inning.
Henderson's outing was a career-long and is believed to be a modern-era record for innings pitched by a Keydet hurler. The Fredericksburg, Va. native struck out six while walking just one.
The Keydets and Highlanders wrap up the weekend series on Sunday morning, with first pitch set for 10:30 a.m. at the Radford University Baseball Field.
