March 28, 2010

BOX SCORE

FARMVILLE, Va. -- Longwood University dropped a 9-4 baseball decision to visiting Le Moyne College Sunday afternoon at Bolding Stadium in Farmville. It was a 2-2 game into the seventh inning before the Dolphins (12-12) scored seven runs over the final three innings. The Lancers (10-11) were led by senior Phil Cerreto/Midlothian (Midlothian) with three hits and three RBI, including a solo home run in the eighth inning. Longwood will remain at home to play again on Tuesday, March 30, hosting Old Dominion University of the Colonial Athletic Association at Bolding Stadium in Farmville beginning at 6 p.m..

Longwood and Le Moyne played a close game through eight innings as each team scored a run in the first inning, and again in the fifth inning for a 2-2 tie through six innings. The Dolphins added another run in the seventh to lead 3-2, and scored two more runs in the eighth to lead 5-2. The Lancers scored two runs in the eighth to close to within 5-4 before LC pushed four runs across in the ninth to secure the road win and series-clinching victory while taking two of the three games.

Le Moyne scored an unearned run in the first on a sacrifice fly by Matt Marra (2-3, 3 RBI), however Longwood answered with a run in the first as well with an RBI single from Cerreto (3-4, 3 RBI) that scored junior Brant Jones/Richmond (Monacan) (2-5) who had doubled. The Dolphins scored again in the fifth on a run-scoring infield single by Marra, though the Lancers responded again with a run as Cerreto doubled down the right field line to score Jones again who had singled. In the seventh, Marra provided an RBI double for LC, and in the eighth, the visitors scored two runs on a wild pitch.

Cerreto led-off the bottom of the eighth with a towering home run shot to left field for his third homer this season, and one out later, senior Scott Kimble/Spotsylvania (Spotsylvania) (2-3, RBI) hit a near line drive home run blast to straight-away center just to the right of the 400-foot sign for his second homer this spring. Le Moyne's four-run ninth was aided by three errors, including two throwing, and a hit batter as well. Matthew Ciraco (2-5, RBI) did open the at bat with a home run, and Brian Stinson (4-4, 2 RBI) contributed a two-run double.

Sophomore Matt Gwaltney/Chesterfield (Matoaca) (0-1) took the pitching loss in relief for Longwood with two-thirds of an inning, allowing two hits and one run, earned, with no strikeouts and no walks. Freshman Bobby Shelton/Forest (Jefferson Forest) started for the Lancers and tossed the first 6.0 solid innings, scattering eight hits and two runs, one earned, with three strikeouts and no walks.

Mark Kuzma (2-1) earned the pitching win for Le Moyne with the first 6.1 innings, allowing seven hits and two runs, both earned, with four strikeouts and one walk. Zach Wiley (3-5) also collected three hits for the Dolphins.