Photo credit: Selwyn Anthony
Charlotte welcomed the Radford Highlanders to the Hayes on Tuesday night with a chance to build off a series win on the road at UAB. Charlotte was able to do just that with a 10-0 walk off run-rule victory in the midweek. Charlotte tossed a combined shutout through seven innings featuring a Johnny-wholestaff approach with names like Clark Dearman, Miles Langhorn, Breven Yarbo and Nick Cosentino. All of which slammed the door on Radford’s lineup coming in after Collin Kramer started with 3 shutout frames.
Each pitcher for the Niners controlled the strike zone, hit spots and mixed pitches extremely well. Even in an inning a piece for each pitcher, we saw some great signs for the future. Miles Langhorn absolutely lit up the radar gun. According to the stadium radar, a rough estimate, Langhorn hit 96 miles per hour multiple times in his quick inning. He once reared back and touched 97. He’s only a redshirt freshman.
At the dish, Charlotte found the long ball. Three Niners went yard, all launching no-doubters over the trees encasing left field. Austin Knight got it started in the second, followed by Jack Dragum and Jake Cunningham in the 4th and 5th. A complete day at the plate also included Dante DeFranco with a pair of doubles.
A Look Into The Weekend
A great start to the week will need to bleed into the crucial series versus UTSA. The Roadrunners will fly in from Texas nationally ranked at #24, and currently leading the conference. Charlotte’s RPI sits in the low 60s, a series win this weekend would not only put the Niners over .500 overall but push that RPI ranking into a good position moving forward.
Charlotte has continued to fight to find the things that work, and it has them in a position to chase postseason goals. The pitching staff has started to step up, and a couple names in the lineup have done the same. If Charlotte can find a way to get to Simon Miller, UTSA’s ace, they could put themselves in a good position to grab a ranked series win. It won’t be easy, Miller is posting an unbelievable .55 ERA with an almost 7-to-1 strikeout to walk ratio. Simply unreal numbers from the Junior from Canton Texas.
Charlotte’s got to find a way to get it done, it’s another great opportunity to get going and make a splash in conference. If the pitching staff continues the pace of the last week or two, it’s going to come down to Charlotte’s star hitters. This series will be won or lost through them. Certainly, something to look forward to this week on Thursday (doubleheader starts at 11am ET) and Friday (first pitch to be determined) at the Hayes. All games will be streamed on ESPN+.