BLACKSBURG 鈥 For the first time in 10 years, the Radford University baseball team has knocked off a ranked foe.
And that foe was none other than New River Valley neighbor Virginia Tech.
Not bad for a Radford team that gave up a school-record 32 runs in a game last weekend.
The Highlanders held No. 25 Virginia Tech to six hits in an 8-1 win at Atlantic Union Bank Park on Tuesday.
鈥淏eing able to kind of put Radford on the map, 鈥 it鈥檚 a really cool opportunity,鈥 said Radford catcher Tyler Sparrer, an Auburn High School graduate.
鈥淚t was just a very enjoyable game. 鈥 Every now and then you go through some hardships, but this 鈥 makes you realize that (baseball is) fun.鈥
The Highlanders (13-14) did not have fun last weekend. They were swept at home by Big South rival High Point, losing 11-2, 32-8 and 14-3.
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鈥淲e had a rough weekend,鈥 Radford third baseman James Ward said. 鈥淭he guys did a really good job of flushing it and moving on.
鈥淲e came out here and gave it our all, played with some grit and toughness and got the job done.鈥
Virginia Tech (20-9) had won 10 of the past 11 meetings in the series, including a 6-1 victory at Radford on March 25. Radford鈥檚 lone win in that span came two years ago. Tuesday marked Radford鈥檚 first victory in Blacksburg in 10 years.
鈥淲inning鈥檚 special, especially against a team like that,鈥 said Radford reliever Trey Ludy, a Cave Spring graduate. 鈥淚t was just a huge confidence boost for the staff.
鈥淩ight in the backyard, couldn鈥檛 ask for much more. This is a great feeling.鈥
Radford had lost 32 straight games to ranked foes since beating Coastal Carolina in 2015.
鈥淚鈥檓 so proud of our team, the way that they responded (after last weekend) 鈥 their resiliency, their toughness,鈥 Radford coach Alex Guerra said. 鈥淭hey are bought into this culture.鈥
After sweeping a road series from then-No. 16 Wake Forest last weekend, the Hokies cracked the Baseball America Top 25 on Monday. They entered Tuesday having won eight of their previous nine games.
But the Hokies did not score until the ninth inning Tuesday. They allowed 10 hits and committed three errors.
鈥淲e just weren鈥檛 prepared,鈥 Tech coach John Szefc said. 鈥淚鈥檒l fall on the sword for that one. That was probably one of the worst performances we鈥檝e had in my eight years here 鈥 definitely at home. But that鈥檚 my fault.
鈥淚t was a complete domination. 鈥 They came ready to play and we didn鈥檛.鈥
Was Tech not mentally and emotionally into the game?
鈥淏oth,鈥 Szefc said.
Radford starter Breckin Nace (2-0), a sophomore who graduated from Jefferson Forest High School, got the win. The left-hander pitched 5 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing three hits and one walk while striking out one.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e really talented, so I鈥檝e got to really make sure every miss I have isn鈥檛 over the heart of the plate or they鈥檒l punish me over the fence,鈥 said Nace, who committed to Radford after decommitting from Lynchburg.
Nace has a 1.50 ERA this year, down from 3.18 last year.
鈥淎s a freshman, every time I was out there I would just try to throw as hard as I can,鈥 he said. 鈥淣ow I鈥檝e accepted that I鈥檓 going to be more mid- to high- (80s). What I鈥檝e worked on is control and my command, making sure I always hit my spots. It worked today and it鈥檚 been working all year.鈥
Ludy, a sophomore, pitched three innings of relief. He allowed three hits and three walks while striking out five. He gave up a homer to Anderson French in the ninth.
Ludy has a 3.66 ERA, way down from 9.00 last year.
鈥淚鈥檓 just much more confident in my ability,鈥 he said.
Drew Stanley got the final two outs of the game.
Ward hit a two-RBI double off the wall in right center to give Radford a 2-0 lead in the fifth.
Ward, a graduate transfer, used to play Division II baseball for The College of Saint Rose in New York. But that college closed after the 2023-24 school year, so he needed to find a new team.
鈥淚 found a home here,鈥 Ward said. 鈥淪o grateful for the opportunity.鈥
Ward, who had three hits and two RBIs on Tuesday, is batting .343 for his new team.
鈥淭he facilities here at Radford have really allowed me to tap into some things that I was never able to tap into with limited facilities (at his old school),鈥 Ward said.
The Highlanders broke the game open with six runs in the seventh.
An error by third baseman Hudson Lutterman brought home the first run of the inning. Eli Hudgins had an RBI double, while Sparrer and Tyler Kehoe each had an RBI single. Hunter Keen added a two-RBI single.
Sparrer graduated from Auburn High School in 2022. He did not have any Division I offers at the time, so he did a postgraduate year at PDG Academy in Fredericksburg and caught Radford鈥檚 attention.
Sparrer, who redshirted last season, is batting .260 this year.
鈥淚t鈥檚 all just kind of paying off, everything that I鈥檝e done in the past, all those late nights in the cages,鈥 he said.
Radford 8, Va. Tech 1
Radford 000 020 600 鈥 8 10 0
Va. Tech 000 000 001 鈥 1 6 3
Nace, Ludy (6), Stanley (9) and Sparrer; Swift, Kulik (5), Jackman (6), Craytor (7), Sweeney (7), Drohan (9) and McCann, French. W鈥擭ace (3-0). L鈥擲wift (1-1). HRs鈥擵T: French (2nd).
