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ROCK HILL, SC – The Winthrop baseball team will jump back into Big South play this weekend as it hosts the Radford Highlanders in a three-game series at The Winthrop Ballpark.

The Eagles enter the weekend with a 12-26 overall record and 5-7 mark in the conference, while the Highlander are 21-15 on the season and 6-3 in conference play.

Winthrop leads the all-time series over Radford 51-33 and 25-16 when playing in Rock Hill. The all-time series began in 1985, and the two teams have been playing each other every year since then. The Highlanders are 7-2 in the last nine meetings with the Eagles which have included a three-game sweep last season, and taking two out of three in both 2009 and 2010. Winthrop won eight in a row to begin the series, which began with an 11-1 victory in Rock Hill on Mar. 28, 1985 in the first game of a doubleheader.

The Eagles are led offensively by Justin Hopper with a .289 average at the plate, while Matt Lobacz has driven in 26 runs on the season and Patrick Gamblin has hit a team-leading four home runs. Gamblin also has a team-best 59 total bases and 12 stolen bases. Tyler Klitsch leads the Winthrop pitching staff with a 3.14 ERA in six starts, while Matt Pierpont and Eric Ruth each have three wins on the season. Pierpont has tossed a team-best 66.2 innings with 60 strikeouts, and Austin Stuart has recorded three saves.

Radford is led by head coach Joe Raccuia, who is in his fifth season with the program and seventh overall. Jeff Kemp and Matt Hillsinger lead the Highlander offense with a .333 batting average, while Kemp has a team-best 40 RBI on the season and Hillsinger seven home runs. Tyler Costello boats a team-best 7-0 record and 1.50 ERA in eight starts for Radford's pitching staff, while Jason Patten has tallied five saves in relief.