NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (Interstat) — Andrew Steinhaus pitched 3 1/3 innings of hitless relief and Radford erupted for seven runs in the seventh inning Friday afternoon to beat Charleston Southern 12-6 at Buccaneer Ballpark in a Big South Conference game.

The Highlanders improved to 25-23 overall and evened the three-game series after losing 4-3 in 10 innings Thursday. The Buccaneers fell to 28-21.

Radford piled up 14 hits and took advantage of three Charleston Southern errors to overcome a 2-0 deficit and build a commanding lead. The Highlanders scored one run in the second inning, three in the fourth and one in the fifth before breaking the game open with seven runs on six hits in the seventh.

The Buccaneers also collected 14 hits, including home runs by Ethan Reader, Blake Edgmon and Garrison Barile, but stranded eight runners and could not overcome Radford’s late surge.

Radford took a 1-0 lead in the second inning when Dylan Parks scored on a passed ball after leading off with a bunt single and stealing second. The Highlanders extended the lead to 4-0 in the fourth. Parks doubled home Alex Levesque, who had walked and stolen second. Eli Hudgins followed with a two-run double down the left-field line, and Breckin Nace added a sacrifice fly.

Charleston Southern answered in the bottom of the fourth. Barile was hit by a pitch, advanced on a sacrifice bunt and scored on Edgmon’s single. Walks and a wild pitch brought home another run, cutting the lead to 4-2.

Radford added a run in the fifth on a single by Junho Son that drove in a runner but ended an inning with a runner thrown out at home. The Buccaneers closed to 5-4 in the sixth on back-to-back solo home runs by Reader and Edgmon. A walk and a double tied the game at 5, but Radford turned to Steinhaus, who struck out the next batter to end the inning.

The seventh inning proved decisive. Radford sent 11 batters to the plate and scored seven times, all with two outs. Levesque and Nolan Toole singled, and Bryce Son walked to load the bases. Junho Son singled to right field, driving in two runs. A fielding error by third baseman Edgmon allowed another run to score, and Hudgins singled up the middle to make it 9-5. Nace then tripled down the right-field line, driving in two more, and later scored on a groundout.

Steinhaus worked the seventh and eighth innings, allowing no hits, one earned run, striking out two and earning the victory. Matthew Lefevers started for Radford and pitched four hitless innings, allowing two earned runs with four strikeouts. Corbin Payne pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings for Charleston Southern with three strikeouts, and Hunter Porter worked 2 1/3 scoreless innings with three strikeouts, allowing two hits.

For Radford, Hudgins finished 2-for-5 with three RBIs, Junho Son went 2-for-5 with three RBIs, and Nace drove in three runs on a 1-for-4 day. For Charleston Southern, Edgmon homered and drove in two runs, Barile homered and had one RBI, and Reader homered and drove in one.

The game featured four home runs in total, all by Charleston Southern, but Radford’s ability to manufacture runs with two outs and capitalize on errors proved the difference. The Highlanders scored eight of their 12 runs with two outs.

Charleston Southern mounted a brief threat in the ninth when Barile led off with a home run to center field, cutting the gap to 12-6. But Steinhaus got the next batter to ground out, and the Buccaneers could not sustain the rally.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Charleston Southern 7, Radford 5, and Interstat’s ELO system gave the Buccaneers a 63.20 percent probability to win.