Box Score
FARMVILLE, Va. – Sophomore
Conner Hall/Mechanicsville had two hits and four RBI, and freshman
Travis Burnette/Lynchburg had four hits to lead home standing Longwood University to a 12-4 non-conference baseball victory past Fairfield University of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference on Saturday afternoon at Charles Buddy Bolding Stadium in Farmville. Burnette also gained the pitching win in relief for the Lancers (2-2), who pounded 18 hits in the finale to the three-game weekend series. Anthony Hajjar had four hits to lead the Stags (2-1), and Jeremy Soule took the pitching loss for the visitors. Longwood will play on the road for two games at Western Carolina University of the Southern Conference on February 26-27 in Cullowhee, North Carolina.
Longwood took a 2-0 lead in the second inning after junior
Scott Burkett/Williamsburg (1-4) reached on an error, moved to second on a single by sophomore
Brandon Delk/Newport News (3-5, RBI) and on to third via a sacrifice bunt from freshman
Kyri Washington/Prospect (1-4), before scoring unearned on a ground out by Hall (2-4, 4 RBI). Delk also scored, unearned, on an RBI single from freshman
C.J. Roth/Yorktown (2-4, 2 RBI).
Fairfield tied it with two runs in the third as Rob LoPinto (1-5) doubled and scored on an RBI single from Ryan Plourde (3-5, RBI), and Hajjar (4-5), who had also singled, scored on a run-scoring single by Sebastian Salvo (3-5, RBI).
Longwood added four runs in the third to take the lead for good, 6-2. Burnette (4-6) reached on an infield single and scored on a one-out RBI single from junior
Alex Owens/Purcellville (2-4, RBI). Burkett again reached base on an error, this time with two outs, and the Lancers took full advantage of the miscue. Delk promptly singled to score Owens, unearned, before Washington also reached on an error to load the bases. Hall provided a two-run single that scored both Burkett and Delk, unearned, though Washington was out at third base on the play to end the inning. LU made it 7-2 in the fourth on a two-out RBI single by senior
Justin Lacy/Glen Allen (2-5, RBI) that plated Roth who had been hit by a pitch earlier in the frame.
Longwood scored four more runs in the sixth to lead 11-2 following Hall's infield single that scored Owens, who had also singled, and Roth reached on another error that allowed both Burkett and Delk to score, unearned, after each had singled. Hall scored via a throwing error during the at-bat, as well.
Fairfield added two runs in the seventh courtesy RBI singles from both Jack Giannini (2-4, RBI) and Keith Skinner (2-4, RBI), before the Lancers pushed across one final run in the eighth with an RBI grounder by Roth that scored Washington, who had reached on a one-out double.
Burnette (1-0) also gained the pitching win for Longwood with 3.0 innings of middle relief, scattering four hits and two runs, both earned, with no walks and two strikeouts. Freshman
Blake Ream/Yorktown had started and pitched the first 4.0 innings, yielding 10 hits and two runs, both earned, with no walks and four strikeouts. Sophomore
Tyler Wislocki/Annandale tossed a scoreless eighth inning, yielding no hits with no walks and no strikeouts, and classmate
Aaron Myers/Newport News pitched a scoreless ninth inning, allowing one hit, while striking out three.
Soule (0-1) took the pitching loss for Fairfield with the first 3.2 innings, yielding nine hits and seven runs, two earned, with two walks and no strikeouts.
