5.22.2012

FARMVILLE, Va. – Longwood University won four of its final six games of the 2012 season this past week, including a 4-1 victory past Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) member James Madison University in its final home game at Charles Buddy Bolding Stadium in Farmville on May 15.  The Lancers also won three of four season-ending road games (2-0, 2-1, 4-3, 3-16) at Rider University of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) on May 18-19 in Lawrenceville, New Jersey, while dropping a 13-1 decision at the College of William and Mary of the CAA on May 14 in Williamsburg.  Longwood completed its campaign with a final record of 27-21 for the 31st winning season in the program's 35-year history -- also the 31st overall 20-win campaign, and 24th season with at least 25 wins.

The Head Coach
Charles Buddy Bolding has completed his 34th year at Longwood during 2012.  He has an outstanding overall record of 927-516-4 since taking over during the fall of 1978, including 31 winning seasons as mentor of the tradition-rich program.  Coach Bolding earned his milestone 900th collegiate coaching victory May 10, 2011 during a 6-4 road win at James Madison.  The University dedicated the baseball facility as Charles Buddy Bolding Stadium on October 3, 2009.

A Look At Longwood Offensively | Season Statistics
Longwood hit .286 through 48 games while averaging 5.4 runs with 35 home runs, eight triples, 96 doubles, 241 RBI, and 29 stolen bases. The Lancers were led by junior Justin Lacy|Glen Allen (J.R. Tucker) (.376, 6 HR, 11 2B, 32 RBI, 35 R) with 20 multi-hit and eight multi-RBI games, a .543 slugging percentage, and a .468 on-base percentage.  Sophomore Scott Burkett|Williamsburg (Jamestown) (.357, 7 HR, 2 3B, 15 2B, 35 RBI, 28 R, 4 SB), senior captain Robby Newman|Virginia Beach (Salem) (.331, 13 HR, 1 3B, 17 2B, 47 RBI, 41 runs, 7 SB), and freshman Brandon Delk|Newport News (Warwick) (.303, 3 HR, 1 3B, 6 2B, 20 RBI, 20 R, 8 SB) also hit above .300 this season. Others in the lineup included sophomore captain Matt Dickason|Chesapeake (Indian River) (.271, 1 HR, 14 2B, 26 RBI, 31 R, 4 SB), classmate Alex Owens|Purcellville (Loudoun Valley) (.265, 4 HR, 9 2B, 28 RBI, 22 R, 3 SB), along with freshmen Joey Varaksa|Charlottesville (Albemarle) (.252, 1 HR, 1 3B, 6 2B, 14 RBI, 18 R, 2 SB) and Travis Biddix|Richmond (Mills E. Godwin) (.250, 4 2B, 14 RBI, 30 R, 1 SB).

A Look At Longwood Pitching | Season Statistics
Longwood posted a 4.62 team earned run average through 405.0 innings with 271 strikeouts.  The Lancers were led by sophomore RHP Ryan Schubert|Springfield (Annandale) (4-1, 2.60 ERA, 27.2 IP, 17K, three saves, 17 appearances), freshman RHP Tyler Wislocki|Annandale (W.T. Woodson) (3-0, 3.10 ERA, 29.0 IP, 17K, 18 appearances-one start), freshman RHP Aaron Myers|Newport News (Denbigh) (1-0, 3.38 ERA, 45.1 IP, 48K, five saves, 22 appearances), and junior RHP Kyler Morgan|Lancaster, Pa. (Lampeter-Strasburg) (6-6, 3.87 ERA, 74.1 IP, 43K, 14 appearances-13 starts-four complete games).  Others throwing well from the mound included freshman LHP Brandon Vick|Newport News (Warwick) (6-2, 4.00 ERA, 54.0 IP, 40K, 14 appearances-11 starts) and senior captain and RHP Matt Gwaltney|Chesterfield (Matoaca) (3-4, 4.55 ERA, 87.0 IP, 55K, two saves, 15 appearances-10 starts-five complete games).

NCAA Statistics
Through games of May 20, Longwood ranked 44th in Division I slugging percentage (.423), 54th in fewest walks allowed (2.98), 56th in home runs (35), 74th in sacrifice bunts (50), 86th in both doubles (96), 92nd in batting average (.286), and 95th in strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.02).  Matt Gwaltney ranked 16th nationally in fewest walks allowed (1.14), 17th in complete games (5), and 38th in strikeout-to-walk ratio (5.00).  Robby Newman ranked 18th in slugging percentage (.663), 27th in home runs (13), 83rd in doubles (17), 94th in total bases (116), and 98th in RBI (47).  Kyler Morgan ranked 36th in complete games (4).  Travis Biddix ranked 43rd in sacrifice bunts (13).  Justin Lacy ranked 44th in batting average (.376) and 46th in on-base percentage (.468).  Scott Burkett ranked 44th in slugging percentage (.611).

It's My Day
Robby Newman enjoyed quite a game during a 4-1 home win against James Madison (5.15) while making his final appearance at Bolding Stadium.  The fourth-year player and team captain had four plate appearances while 2-3 with two solo home runs for two RBI, three runs scored, and a walk while also adding one putout in the field.  Newman finished his career with a .298 batting average, 29 home runs (10th), 49 doubles (6th), and 137 RBI.

It's My Day (2)
Matt Gwaltney enjoyed quite a game during a 7-1 home win against UMES (4.27) while enjoying Senior Night in front of his family and friends.  The fourth-year player and team captain started on the mound and pitched a complete-game victory, limiting the Hawks to only three hits and one earned run over the 9.0 innings with no walks and a career-high tying 11 strikeouts. He also had four plate appearances while 2-2 with two doubles, three runs scored, a walk, and a sacrifice bunt while adding one assist in the field as well.  Gwaltney finished his career with a pitching record of 10-14 with a 5.07 ERA through 206.0 innings with 130 strikeouts.  He made 51 appearances with 23 starts and seven complete games with three saves, allowing only 50 walks (2.18, 4th).

What A Day
Longwood posted season-highs for at bats (46), runs (23), hits (20), home runs (6), RBI (23), total bases (43), and sacrifice flies (2) during a 23-8 road win at North Carolina Central (4.8).  Alex Owens (4-4, 7 RBI) hit three home runs among his four hits and seven RBI, Robby Newman (2-6, 5 RBI) had two home runs with five RBI, and Justin Lacy (2-5, 2 RBI) added a home run among two hits and two RBI.  It was the most runs scored by the Lancers since a 24-12 road win at Campbell in 2010.

Let's Go To The Park
Alex Owens tied a school record with his three home runs at North Carolina Central (4.8) -- last accomplished by Charlie Yarbrough in 2005, while tying for second-best all-time marks for runs (5), RBI (7), and total bases (13) in a game.  The second-year third baseman has now played two games at the Durham Athletic Park in his two seasons, and is six-for-seven (.857) with five home runs and 12 RBI at the renovated former home to the minor league Durham Bulls and the location where the 1988 classic baseball movie “Bull Durham” was filmed.

Season Superlatives
Alex Owens had four hits, including three home runs, seven RBI, five runs, and 13 total bases at North Carolina Central (4.8). Owens drew four walks against N.C. Central (3.27), and had seven assists at Coppin State (2.26).  Joey Varaksa (4-4) had four hits against Niagara (3.11), Justin Lacy (4-5) had four hits at N.C. Central (4.7), Scott Burkett (4-5) had four hits at N.C. Central (4.8), and Brandon Delk (4-4) had four hits at VMI (4.11).  Matt Dickason had three doubles at Coppin State (2.26), two steals at Coppin State (2.25), and seven assists against Temple (3.4).  Justin Lacy had 16 putouts at Coppin State (2.25).  Travis Biddix had two sacrifice bunts against Temple (3.3), and seven assists at Old Dominion (5.8). Freshman Conner Hall|Mechanicsville (Atlee) had two sac bunts against Niagara (3.10), and sophomore Zach Mihalko|Richmond (Mills E. Godwin) had two sac bunts at George Mason (4.18).  Brandon Delk had two steals at Coppin State (2.25).  Kyler Morgan pitched a complete-game, four-hit shutout with no walks and seven strikeouts at Coppin State (2.25), and also pitched complete games against Cornell (3.23), at N.C. Central (4.7), and against N.C. A&T (4.26).  Matt Gwaltney had 11 strikeouts each during complete-game efforts against George Washington (3.30) and UMES (4.27), the latter while yielding only three hits with no walks, and he also pitched complete games against Cornell (3.23), at Campbell (3.17), and at Rider (5.18).

Streaks Of Note | Finishing Strong
Justin Lacy finished the season with a 16-game streak of reaching base, and hit safely in 39 of 47 games this season (65-149, .436).  Conner Hall finished with a 10-game streak of reaching base.  Scott Burkett hit safely in 22 of his final 26 games (34-91, .374).  Travis Biddix hit safely in 11 of his final 15 games (17-49, .347).  Matt Gwaltney hit safely in six of his final eight games (9-26, .346).  Aaron Myers allowed only three earned runs (1.16) over his last 11 appearances through 23.1 innings with 26 strikeouts (10.03).  Ryan Schubert allowed only two earned runs (1.46) over his last seven appearances through 12.1 innings.  Brandon Vick allowed only one earned run (0.82) over his last three appearances through 11.0 innings.  Freshman RHP Zach Jordan|Hopewell (Motoaca) allowed only two earned runs (1.74) over his last five appearances through 10.1 innings.

Late-Game Heroics | Miscellaneous Marks
Longwood won six home games this season during its final at-bat, including Iona (2.18, 6-5), Temple (3.3, 7-6), Temple (3.4, 3-2), Norfolk State (3.7, 4-3), and North Carolina A&T (4.21, 4-3, 4-3).  Against Iona, Alex Owens provided a two-out RBI single.  Against Temple the first time, it was Matt Gwaltney with a one-out, pinch-hit RBI single. Against Temple the next day, Brandon Delk hit a one-out, run-scoring single.  Against Norfolk State, it was Robby Newman with a two-out, two-run double.  Against N.C. A&T in game one, Justin Lacy hit a one-out, RBI single, and in game two, Conner Hall had a one-out sacrifice fly to score the winning and game-ending run.  Longwood was a perfect 19-0 this season when out-hitting opponents, 22-2 when leading after six innings, 18-2 when leading after seven innings, and 16-2 when leading after eight innings.

Home Field Advantage
Longwood has an overall record of 338-143 (.703) at Bolding Stadium, though finishing an uncharacteristic 16-14 at home this season.  The Lancers are 78-54 (.591) in Farmville since becoming Division I-eligible for 2008.  Longwood inaugurated competition at the completely renovated facility (formerly Lancer Stadium) in 1994, and won that first game 8-3 vs. Davis & Elkins (W.Va.) on March 12, 1994.

Up Next
Longwood will open its 2013 campaign next February, though its first Big South Conference competition will include a three-game home series against UNC Asheville March 15-17 at Bolding Stadium in Farmville.