RADFORD, Va. - Walt Quattlebaum had a career-high three hits in the first game and Jon Matthews scored a career-high four runs as the Charleston Southern baseball team earned a doubleheader split with Radford University Saturday afternoon at Radford University Baseball Field.

CSU (12-18, 3-5 Big South) won the first game of the two-game set 9-6, and the Highlanders (13-12, 4-2 Big South) avoided the sweep with a 9-3 victory in the series finale.

The Buccaneers took Friday's game 7-5 and earned their first three-game series win of the season. This was also the second-straight year CSU was able to take two out of three from Radford.

GAME ONE (box score)
CSU controlled the tempo in Game One by outhitting Radford 12-9 and gaining an early 6-1 lead. The Buccaneers never allowed the Highlanders to get within three runs the rest of the way after pulling ahead in the early going.

Quattlebaum plated the first run of the day after doubling to right field in the top of the second. He was driven home by a Tom Burkett single.

Matthews and Nick Chinners led off the third with back-to-back singles. Derek Smith grounded into a double play, which moved Matthews 90 feet from home. He scored on the following play after Matt Still reached on a fielding error by RU shortstop Brett Mollenhauer.

Still scored on a double to left field from Quattlebaum, and CSU took a 3-0 lead.

The Highlanders were able to answer in the home half of the third when Alex Guerra scored on a fielding error by Quattlebaum.

That would be the closest RU would come as Bentley Christmas led off a huge fourth inning with a solo home run. The Highlanders recorded two-consecutive outs, but made a costly error by walking Matthews on four pitches. Chinners made them pay for the mistake with a two-run blast over the right field wall to push the score to 6-1.

Radford tried to answer with runs by Raphael Turner and Tyren Rivers in the fourth and fifth, respectively, but Matthews scored on a wild pitch in the sixth and Still hit his team-leading fifth homer of the season in the seventh to push the lead back out to five runs.

Matthews scored his career-high fourth run of the game in the top of the eighth, and RU could only muster three runs the rest of the way to fall 9-6.

Chinners and Quattlebaum each picked up three hits to lead CSU, and Matthews was a perfect 2-of-2 from the plate. He walked three times and scored four runs. Chinners drove home a game-high three runs and Still scored twice.

Tyler Thornburg improved to 5-1 after recording his fourth quality start of the season. The two-time Big South Pitcher of the Week pitched six innings and gave up just three runs (two earned) on five hits. He struck out six and walked just two to earn his fourth-straight win.

Charlie McCready relieved Thornburg and gave up two runs on two hits in just one inning. Corey Deighan pitched a perfect eighth inning, and Stew Brase gave up one run and two hits in the ninth as the bullpen held firm.

Turner led the way for Radford at the plate with three hits and two runs. He and four other Highlanders all finished with one run batted in.

Eddie Butler (4-1) threw six innings for Radford and allowed seven runs (five earned) on nine hits in his first loss of the season. Derrick Brewer pitched the final three innings and allowed two runs on three hits. The duo combined to record 13 strikeouts and just five walks in the losing effort.

GAME TWO (box score)
The series finale was a pitcher's duel for the first five innings before Radford scored six in the sixth to pull ahead for the 9-3 victory.

Radford starting pitcher Bobby Bolling (1-0) allowed a single to Chinners in the first frame, but sat down 17 of the next 20 Bucs to finish his six innings of work with only two hits allowed. He struck out seven and walked just one.

The only time Charleston Southern could get to Bolling was when Burkett scored on a wild pitch in the fifth inning after reaching base on a fielder's choice.

Andrew White (1-2) allowed two singles in the first but finished the inning unscathed. He allowed a leadoff home run to Matt Mack in the bottom of the second, but then retired 12 of the next 15 batters to get through the fifth inning with the score tied at 1-1.

The sixth is when the wheels came off for CSU. Reggie Keen began the inning with a double, and he was driven home by Mack. A costly error by Christmas and a two-run single from Robert Lamas chased White off the mound. Deighan entered the game and allowed singles to four of the next five batters before being relieved by Brase.

Brase recorded the final out of the inning, but the damage had been done.

Quattlebaum hit his first-collegiate home run in the seventh, and Burkett hit his fourth of the year in the ninth, but the tallies were not enough to get Charleston Southern back in the game as the road squad lost 9-3 in the series finale.

Radford outhit CSU 14-6.

Six different Bucs contributed with hits, and Burkett scored two of the three runs.

Tyler Vick pitched 2/3 of an inning and allowed just one hit. Kyle Ward made his first-collegiate pitching appearance, as he threw the eighth inning without allowing a run.

Keen recorded three hits to lead the Highlanders, and three different members of the home team drove home two runs. Mack, Andrew Cook and Lamas all scored twice.

Abram Williams relieved Bolling and allowed one run on three hits in two innings. Jason Patten pitched the ninth and allowed the solo home run to Burkett before closing out the game.

Charleston Southern returns to CSU Ballpark for a 3 p.m. game April 6 against The Citadel. The matchup with the cross-town Bulldogs will be broadcast live on the Big South Network.