March 9, 2009

BOX SCORE

FARMVILLE, Va. -- Longwood University took an 11-4 come-from-behind baseball victory past visiting Youngstown State University Monday afternoon at Lancer Stadium in Farmville.  Freshman Robby Newman/Virginia Beach (Salem) (3-4, 4 RBI) had three hits, including his team-leading third home run, with four RBI to lead the Lancers who improved to 8-6 with their fourth-straight win.  Senior John Walker II/Alexandria (West Potomac) (3-0) earned his third pitching win this year with a complete-game, 9.0-inning effort on the mound, scattering 10 hits and three earned runs with no walks and three strikeouts against the Penguins (2-7).  Longwood will play again on Tuesday, March 10, at Campbell University of the Atlantic Sun Conference for a doubleheader in Buies Creek, North Carolina beginning at 1 p.m..
   
Longwood fell behind 3-0 in the first inning as Youngstown State of the Horizon League got a two-run double from Jacke Healey (2-4, 3 RBI) and an RBI single from Casey Holland (2-4, RBI).  The Lancers made it 3-1 in the third as freshman Ian Harvey/Midlothian (James River) (2-4) reached on a bunt single but advanced all the way to third on a throwing error.  Classmate Richie Palase/Staten Island, N.Y. (Moore Catholic) (0-4, RBI) followed with a sacrifice fly to center field.  The Penguins added an unearned run in the fifth to lead 4-1 as a runner reached on a fielding error before an RBI single from Healey.  The hosts closed to within 4-2 in the sixth when Newman's double down the left field line scored senior Jonathan Quigley/Annandale (W.T. Woodson) (2-5, 2 RBI) who had singled.
   
Longwood went ahead 5-4 with three runs in the seventh as junior David Smiy Jr./Chesterfield (Matoaca) (2-4, 2 RBI) had a two-run single, and Newman contributed a sacrifice fly to center field to score Quigley with the go-ahead run after he had reached on a fielder's choice.  The Lancers secured the home triumph with six more runs in the eighth, the big blow being a two-out, two-run blast to left field by Newman for his second homer in two days and team-best third of the season.  Also producing runs were Quigley with a two-run double down the left field line, along with juniors Phil Cerreto/Midlothian (Midlothian) (3-5, RBI) and Casey Havers/Thorofare, N.J. (West Deptford) (1-4, RBI) -- each with run-scoring singles to right field.
   
Walker settled down after the first inning and allowed just six hits and the one unearned run over the final 8.0 innings for his second complete-game in four appearances.  John Koehnlein (2-4) and Eric Marzec (2-4) also collected two hits each for Youngstown State, while Trent Wood (2-1) took the pitching loss in relief, yielding five hits and six earned runs with one walk and one strikeout during his only inning of late relief for the Penguins.