Coulter Hodges struck out the last two batters with the potential winning runs on base as James River held on for an 8-7 baseball win at Radford last Thursday.

This was a wild one from start to finish. River scored twice in the top of the first to take the lead, but Radford scored three in the bottom of the inning. The Knights then settled down and led by a seemingly comfortable 8-3 margin after five and a half.

However, it wasn’t going to be easy. Radford scored four times in the bottom of the sixth and got the first two batters on base by walks in the bottom of the seventh, down a run. That’s when Hodges came through to pick up the save. Landen Horton started and got the win and Andrew Harless pitched three innings.

Offensively, Luke Harman, Kavin Vest and Zack Cahoon all had two hits for River. Vest also had a triple, two RBIs and two runs scored while Harman scored twice and stole a base. Jonathan Perry had two runs batted in.

With the win River improved to 2-3 on the season. The Knights were scheduled to host Giles on Tuesday, followed by a trip to Parry McCluer today and a home game with Glenvar on Friday.

The Knights are one of the few county teams that will play over break, as they have a home game with Staunton River on Thursday, April 13.