March 26, 2005

BOX SCORE GAME 1

BOX SCORE GAME 2

FARMVILLE, Va. -- Longwood University split a baseball doubleheader against visiting Indiana University Saturday at Lancer Stadium, winning 4-1 in the nightcap after falling 10-4 in the opener. The victory in game two of the twinbill is the program’s first-ever over a member institution of the Big Ten Conference, and one of the biggest wins in the 27-year history of the sport at Longwood. The Lancers are now 8-17, while the Hoosiers are now 13-5. The scheduled series finale on Sunday, March 27, has been canceled. Longwood will play again Tuesday, March 29, at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia.

In the nightcap, Longwood led 1-0 through three innings after scoring a run in its first at-bat before Indiana tied it at 1-1 in the fourth inning. The Lancers added two runs in the fifth inning, and one run in the sixth inning, as sophomore Brian McCullough/Virginia Beach (Princess Anne) (2-2) went the distance on the mound. The right-hander with the side-arm delivery limited IU to just three hits and one earned run with seven strikeouts.

Senior Chris Balus/Newport News (Denbigh) (2-3, RBI) had the game-winning hit with a two-out, RBI infield single to shortstop in the fifth inning. Sophomore Matt Duval/Mechanicsburg, Pa. (Trinity) (3-3, RBI) collected three hits to lead LU, including a two-out RBI single in the fifth inning, while freshman Travis Lydon/Westlake, Ohio (St. Edward) (2-3) also had two hits for the Lancers.

“For where this program has to go, that is the biggest win in the program’s history,” said 27th-year Longwood head coach Charles ‘Buddy’ Bolding. “We’ve had some big wins over the years, but for where we are going, this is the biggest.”

Indiana’s three hits were from Jay Brant (1-3), Corby Heckman (1-3), and Kurt Weigle (1-1), while Brad Davidson (2-1) took the pitching loss with the first 4.2 innings, allowing eight hits and one earned run with three strikeouts. Brant scored the Hoosiers lone run on a wild pitch in the fourth inning.

In the opener, Indiana collected 16 hits and led 6-0 before Longwood got on the scoreboard in the seventh inning. The Lancers scored three runs in the seventh, all on home runs, to close to within 6-3 but the Hoosiers secured the win with four runs in the ninth inning, an inning that LU added a final run as well.

Indiana was led by Joe Kemp (4-5, 3 RBI) who had a pair of doubles, while Weigle (1-4, RBI) hit a home run for the Hoosiers. Josh Lewis (4-0) took the pitching win with the first 7.0 innings, scattering five hits and three earned runs with 10 strikeouts. Steve Nielson (2) earned his second save with the final 2.0 innings, allowing three hits and one earned run with two strikeouts.

Longwood received home runs from senior Robert Gillis/Dartmouth, Nova Scotia (Auburn Drive) (1-3, 2 RBI), sophomore Charlie Yarbrough/Richmond (Mills Godwin) (1-4, RBI), and freshman Louis Ullrich/Centreville (Westfield) (1-4, RBI). Freshman John Farrell/Nantucket, Mass. (Nantucket) (2-3) had the mound loss with the first 5.0-plus innings, yielding nine hits and five earned runs with four strikeouts.