University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville Baseball Set to Play at Radford This Weekend
03.18.2010 | Baseball
The Bulldogs (4-9) hope to break a five-game losing streak on Friday but it won't be easy against a Highlanders' (9-9) squad that is playing their best baseball of the season. Radford has bounced back from a tough start as the Highlanders began the season 0-4 but has rebounded to win seven of their last 10 games. RU's program has steadily improved under the guidance of third-year skipper Joe Raccuia.
"Radford has a good team," stated first-year Asheville coach Tom Smith. "They're well-coached and play hard for nine innings. We're going to have to play well to have a chance at getting any wins this weekend."
The Bulldogs have had a tough week as they lost to area foe Mars Hill on Monday, 7-1 and then dropped a 10-3 game at Western Carolina Tuesday night.
"We didn't play very well against Mars Hill, but we battled better at Western Carolina," admitted Smith. "Against Western, we fell behind 7-0 right off the bat but then did a good job competing the rest of the way. We hit the ball better on Tuesday and had a lot of hard outs. Our guys just need to keep working hard, and we'll be OK before the year is over."
Asheville is scheduled to start sophomore right-hander Ryan Dull (2-0, 5.62 ERA) on the mound on Friday.
The Bulldogs continue to be led at the plate by two freshmen. Catcher Ian Graham is hitting .356, while second baseman Robert McIntosh is hitting .333. Junior outfielder Danny Baatz is hitting .333 and tied for the team lead in homers (2) and leads in RBI (12).
NOTES
The Bulldogs have had at least 10 hits in seven of their 13 games this season...Asheville has played 12 of its first 13 games away from home in 2010...the Bulldogs begin a five-game homestand on Tuesday against Western Carolina and finish with a three-game conference series vs. Liberty next weekend (March 26-28)...Asheville has won the last six series it has played at Radford as the Highlanders have not won a home series against the Bulldogs since the 1996 season...Radford swept the Bulldogs last season in Asheville.
