AP Sports Preview

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (Interstat) — The Big South Baseball Championship opens Wednesday with a first-round matchup between seed Radford (25-24) and seed Charleston Southern (29-21) at McCormick Field. First pitch is set for the afternoon session.

The Highlanders and Buccaneers are meeting for the fourth time in seven days after closing the regular season with a three-game series in Charleston, S.C. Charleston Southern took the finale 10-7 on Saturday to salvage a split, while Radford won the first two games – 12-6 on Friday and 4-3 in 10 innings on Thursday.

Both lineups feature dangerous hitters who fueled those recent contests.

Radford first baseman Breckin Nace enters the tournament on a tear. Over his last six games, Nace is 8 for 23 (.348) with two home runs and nine RBIs. He homered and drove in three runs in Saturday’s loss and also had three RBIs in Friday’s win. On the mound, Nace made a relief appearance May 5 against East Tennessee State, throwing 2⅔ scoreless innings with two strikeouts.

Charleston Southern right fielder Garrison Barile matched Nace’s production in the series. Barile went 2 for 3 with a home run and four RBIs in Saturday’s win, and also homered Friday. Over his last 10 games, Barile is hitting .300 with three homers and 10 RBIs.

Radford’s pitching staff will look to contain Barile after allowing 10 runs Saturday. Trey Ludy and Parker Noonan each threw 2⅓ scoreless innings of relief in that game, striking out four and two, respectively. For Charleston Southern, relievers Hayden Henry and Christian Krause combined for 3⅔ shutout innings Saturday, striking out two.

The Buccaneers swept a three-game series at Longwood (21-3, 7-1, 14-3) before dropping the series opener to Radford. The Highlanders took two of three from UNC Asheville to close the regular season, then split the series at Charleston Southern.

Wednesday’s winner advances in the double-elimination tournament; the loser faces an elimination game Thursday.