March 20, 2007
BOX SCORE
FARMVILLE, Va. -- Longwood University took a 9-8 baseball decision past visiting Radford University Tuesday at Lancer Stadium in Farmville; winning the game in the bottom of the extra 11th inning on a one-out RBI single by sophomore Jon Quigley/Annandale (W.T. Woodson) (1-6, 2 RBI). The Lancers out-slugged the Highlanders 17-11 in hits while rallying from an early five-run deficit before finally taking the victory in dramatic fashion after the visitors had scrambled to tie the contest at 8-8 with two runs in the top of the ninth inning. Longwood improved to 18-6 overall with nine-straight wins, and 11 wins in the last 12 games, and will play again on Wednesday, March 21, at Virginia Tech of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) in Blacksburg beginning at 3 p.m..
Radford jumped ahead early, leading 5-0 after its first two at-bats while still ahead 6-1 after three innings. The Highlanders’ two runs in the first inning were courtesy a sacrifice fly by Nate Toth (0-3, RBI) and an RBI fielder’s choice by Alex Gregory (2-6, 2 RBI). RU added three more runs in the second inning aided by a throwing error that allowed two runs to score. Steve Mignogna (2-5, RBI) also had an RBI single in the inning.
Longwood began climbing back in the second inning with a run as an RBI ground-out by freshman Topher Ellis/Virginia Beach (First Colonial) (0-2, 2 RBI) scored classmate Frank Berry II/Virginia Beach (First Colonial) (1-5, RBI) who had reached on a single. The Lancers added runs in the fourth and fifth innings as well with another ground ball out from Ellis scoring sophomore Paul Heidler II/Warrenton (Notre Dame Academy) (4-5, 3 RBI) who had opened the fourth with a triple off the base of the wall in right-center field. In the fifth, Heidler’s RBI single scored Quigley who had walked to open the frame. The Lancers tallied four runs in the sixth inning to take a 7-6 advantage as sophomore Robbie Bailey/Mechanicsville (Hanover) (4-5, 14-game hitting streak) led-off with an infield single and crossed the plate on Quigley’s ground-out. Berry later reached on a fielder’s choice play that scored senior captain Tyler Ames/Exmore (Northampton) (2-6) who had reached on a bunt-single to the mound. Heidler’s two-out single drove home Berry unearned via a fielding error in the outfield on the play, along with freshman Casey Havers/ Thorofare, N.J. (West Deptford) (1-2) who had reached base on a single.
Longwood added what appeared to be an insurance run in the eighth inning when Heidler doubled to the left-center field wall to score Havers who had walked to lead-off. Radford, however, was not done and rallied to score two runs in the ninth inning as Gregory singled with two outs to plate Andrew Cook (0-2) who had reached on a fielder’s choice. After an intentional walk to load the bases, Jeff Cooper (0-0, RBI) drew another (unintentional) base on balls to allow Raphael Turner (0-1) who was pinch-running across the plate for an 8-8 contest. In the 11th inning, junior Nick von Gersdorff/Purcellville (Loudoun Valley) (1-1) promptly had a pinch-hit single to open the frame and crossed the plate with the game-winning run on the one-out single through the left-side by Quigley. von Gersdorff had moved to second on a sacrifice bunt from freshman Phi Cerreto/Midlothian (Midlothian) (0-1), and to third on another single by Bailey who along with Heidler had four hits in the game.
Longwood sophomore right-handed pitcher John Walker II/Alexandria (West Potomac) (3-0) earned the mound win in late relief with the final 2.1 scoreless innings, allowing one hit with two strikeouts and one walk. Junior right-handed pitcher John Farrell/Nantucket, Mass. (Nantucket) had pitched the first 5.0 innings for the Lancers, yielding seven hits and six runs, three earned, with two strikeouts.
Radford’s Kyle Starr (1-2) took the pitching loss with 4.1 innings of late relief as well, allowing seven hits and two earned runs with three strikeouts and three walks.
