Box Score
LYNCHBURG, Va. – Freshman
Colton Konvicka/Richmond had five hits and two RBI, junior captain
Matt Dickason/Chesapeake had four hits and four RBI and junior captain
Scott Burkett/Williamsburg hit a three-run home run to lead No. 7 Longwood University to an 11-3 victory against No. 3 High Point University in an elimination game at the 2013 Big South Baseball Championship on Wednesday morning at the Liberty Baseball Stadium in Lynchburg. Sophomore
Brandon Vick/Newport News gained the complete-game pitching win for the Lancers (25-27), who enjoyed a seven-run third inning and had 16 hits in the contest. Ryan Retz had two hits, including a homer, to lead the Panthers (29-29), while Jacob Newberry took the mound loss with the first 3.1 innings. Longwood will play again on Thursday, May 23, at 3 p.m. against No. 6 Gardner-Webb University in another elimination game at the conference tournament being played in Lynchburg.
Longwood scored a run in the top of the first inning to lead early at 1-0, getting a lead-off single from Konvicka (5-6, 2 RBI), followed by a double down the right field line from Dickason (4-5, 4 RBI), and Konvicka crossed the plate on a sacrifice fly to left field by junior captain
Alex Owens/Purcellville (0-3, RBI). Dickason was left at third base after a pair of strikeouts. High Point got a pair of one-out singles in the first, but a fielder's choice and fly ball ended the threat.
Longwood went down in order in the second inning, while High Point collected a run on four hits to tie it at 1-1. The Panthers strung together three-straight singles with two outs, the latter from Willie Medina (1-4, 2 RBI) to score Kyle Brandenburg (1-3), who had started the two-out rally with a bunt single.
Longwood scored two runs in the third inning to go back ahead, 3-1. Freshman
C.J. Roth/Yorktown (2-5) got it started with a triple down into the right field corner and scored when Konvicka followed with a double down the right field line again. Dickason plated Konvicka with the second-straight double, this time down the left field line, but Dickason was left on base along with Burkett (2-5, 3 RBI), who had singled and moved to second on an error; following a strikeout and a fly ball. High Point also scored in the third to make it 3-2 when Retz (2-4, RBI) led off with a towering solo home run to left field. Konvicka threw out a Panther trying to advance from first to third on a two-out single to center field to end the inning.
Longwood continued its momentum in the fourth inning, scoring seven runs on six hits, to lead 10-2. Sophomore
Conner Hall/Mechanicsville (0-2) was hit by a pitch with one out, followed by a bunt single by Roth, a run-scoring single from Konvicka and a two-run single by Dickason to chase Newberry. Owens was also hit by a pitch before Burkett promptly crushed the three-run home run to left center field for his fourth homer this season. Freshman
Kyri Washington/Prospect (1-5) added with a single and crossed the plate on an RBI double to the right field corner by senior
Justin Lacy/Glen Allen (1-5, RBI). The eight-run advantage proved settling to Vick, who struck out two High Point batters in a quiet fourth for the Panthers.
Longwood had a relatively quiet fifth inning, only getting a one-out single from Dickason. High Point also went quietly in the fifth as the southpaw Vick recorded his first one-two-three inning on the mound for the Lancers.
Longwood left Delk at third base in the sixth inning after a two-out walk, stolen base and wild pitch. Vick retired the High Point side in order again in the sixth.
Longwood added a run in the seventh inning when Konvicka tripled off the wall in left field with one out and scored on a sacrifice fly to right field by Dickason. Vick continued getting stronger, retiring the first two batters for nine-straight, before he hit a batter but followed with a fly ball to end the inning.
Longwood was retired in order for only the second time in the eighth inning. Vick once-again retired High Point in order in the eighth.
Longwood put its first two batters on base again in the ninth inning via an infield single by Delk and Hall getting hit by a pitch for the second time, before Roth lined into a double play that was nearly a triple play. Hall moved to third on another double by Konvicka, though both were left on base on a ground ball. High Point managed a final run in the ninth, getting a one-out walk to Brandenburg, who later scored on a ground ball by Medina.
Vick (6-5) went the complete-game 9.0 innings for Longwood, scattering 10 hits and three runs, all earned, with two walks and six strikeouts. He allowed just one hit after the third inning and retired 15 of 17 batters before entering the ninth.
Newberry (4-3) started and pitched the first 3.1 innings for High Point, yielding nine hits and seven runs, all earned, with no walks and four strikeouts. He was one of seven pitchers used by the Panthers.
"You can't get much better pitching than that, especially out of a sophomore," said 35th-year head coach Buddy Bolding. "He really did a great job and Coach McCullough did a good job managing him because we're in the loser's bracket now and there's no room for error.
"Your lead off hitter sets the table for everything and then you measure up behind that, and Colton did a great job of that today. He hit well and showed his speed a little bit and that gave our No. 2 hitter a chance to do something special and he did that today, as well."
Gardner-Webb fell to No. 2 Coastal Carolina University by a score of 3-2 in the seventh game of the tournament later Wednesday, its first loss in the championship.
