FAIRLAWN, Va. (Interstat) — Nick Locurto homered twice and drove in three runs, leading a powerful Virginia Tech offense to a 13-5 victory over Radford on Tuesday night at Radford Baseball Stadium.

The Hokies (14-13) broke the game open early, scoring in each of the first five innings and building a commanding lead the Highlanders (12-13) could not overcome. Virginia Tech’s 12-hit attack was complemented by a parade of six pitchers who combined to strike out 14 Radford batters.

The most important sequence of the game came in the top of the third inning, which transformed a manageable 3-0 deficit for Radford into a rout. Virginia Tech’s Eddie Ball led off with a double and Sam Grube was hit by a pitch. Henry Cooke then cleared the bases with a two-run double to right-center field. Locurto, the game’s top star, followed by launching a two-run homer to left field, extending the Hokies’ lead to 7-0 and prompting a pitching change.

Locurto, who entered the game in a 2-for-18 slump over his previous five contests, finished 3 for 4 with a double, two home runs, three RBIs and three runs scored. His solo homer in the fifth inning capped his big night.

Virginia Tech scored its first two runs without a hit in the first inning, using a walk, a single, an error, a wild pitch and a sacrifice fly from Cooke. The Hokies added two more in the second on back-to-back solo home runs by Ethan Gibson and Treyson Hughes.

After Locurto’s third-inning blast made it 7-0, Radford mounted its only significant threat in the bottom half of the frame. The Highlanders scored three runs on three hits, three hit batters and a walk, chasing Virginia Tech starter Andrew Son. Reliever Jacob Exum entered with the bases loaded and recorded a strikeout to limit the damage, preserving a 7-3 lead.

The Hokies responded immediately. Locurto’s solo shot in the fifth made it 8-3. Sam Gates then singled, stole second, advanced to third on a passed ball and scored on another passed ball. Hughes added a sacrifice bunt later in the inning to push the lead to 10-3.

Virginia Tech’s bullpen took over from there. Exum, Brody Roe and Danny Lazaro combined for five scoreless innings of relief, allowing just one hit while striking out eight. Lazaro was particularly dominant, striking out five of the seven batters he faced over 2 2/3 perfect innings.

The Hokies added single runs in the seventh and eighth innings. Locurto walked, advanced to third on a single by Gates and scored on a bases-loaded walk by Preston Daniel in the seventh. In the eighth, Cooke walked, advanced to third on a double by Locurto and scored on a groundout by Gates.

Radford scored two unearned runs in the ninth against Virginia Tech’s bullpen depth, using three walks and a hit batter, but could not bring the tying run to the on-deck circle.

Gates finished 2 for 4 with an RBI, two runs scored and three stolen bases for Virginia Tech. Cooke drove in three runs.

For Radford, Ben Nace had two of the team’s six hits. Starter Patrick Noonan took the loss, allowing five earned runs in 1 2/3 innings. Radford relievers Will Palmer and Ben Keefe provided solid work, combining for 3 2/3 scoreless innings with five strikeouts.

The victory gave Virginia Tech a winning record for the first time since mid-February. Both teams return to conference play this weekend. Virginia Tech travels to Miami for an Atlantic Coast Conference series beginning Friday. Radford hosts South Carolina Upstate in a Big South Conference series starting Thursday. The two in-state foes are scheduled to meet again on April 14 in Blacksburg.