MOREHEAD CITY, N.C. – Sunday's rubber match was all about the newcomers as Michael Catlin, Michael Osinski and Connar Bastaich powered the Lancers to a 6-2 victory over Army. Catlin was terrific on the mound in his first collegiate start and was the beneficiary of a strong offensive start courtesy of Osinski's best performance of the year and a 4-for-5 day from Bastaich.

An amped-up Catlin (2-0) dominated the Black Knight order, holding Army (3-3) hitless for the first four innings and allowing just two base runners over that span. The 6-4, 200-pound freshman continued his string of stellar outings in earning his second win of the season after finishing with a strong 5.1 innings pitched allowing two runs on only two hits while punching-out four Black Knights.

The Lancers (4-6) made sure to give the rookie a warm welcome in his first career start. After Catlin set the Black Knights down in order in the top of the first, the bats delivered four runs on five hits for a comfortable cushion.

Osinski, a fellow freshman, was a big part of building the four-run lead as the Vestal, N.Y. native busted out of a slow start to the season with a thunderous 3-for-4 day including a clutch two-out, two-RBI single in the first.

Joining in on the newcomer surge, Bastaich added a pair of RBI on a 4-for-5 effort. The transfer from Potomac State College joined Osinski in producing his best game to date as a Lancer.

"The freshmen really stepped up for us today," said head coach Ryan Mau. "Osinski had a great offensive day for us. We've done a good job of putting runs on the board early and we got back to that today. This weekend was huge for us to get a series win against a really good opponent. I'm proud of the way the guys competed all weekend for us, we finally got the starting pitching that we needed and the bullpen did its job."

For the third consecutive game, Longwood found a terrific start as the southpaw Catlin provided an electric outing in his inaugural start. After seeing action in three games as a reliever this season, the rookie got off to a near perfect start, sitting the Black Knights down in order in the first on just 13 pitches.

"Starting off you always want to throw strikes and in the bullpen I felt a lot of emotion because it was my first start," said Catlin. "The ball was coming out of my hand good and I had a lot of control over my fastball and curveball, so I just went out there and threw strikes. The offense really helped out putting a four spot up in the first and it's always a lot easier to pitch with the lead."

A former pitcher himself, Mau sensed the emotion coursing through Catlin.

"Cat did an outstanding job of coming out and just filling up the zone," said Mau. "He was definitely amped-up and it took him a while to get those emotions in check, which you expect from a young guy in his first start. But he did a great job of filling the zone, making them put the ball in play and letting us play defense. We did an outstanding job defensively and made a lot of plays for the kid."

One of those defenders who had a big day was Colton Konvicka. The veteran center fielder snared four fly balls including a pair of lined shots in support of the rookie pitcher. Brandon Delk made a great diving grab and Alex Lewis stabbed two well-hit balls to pitch in on an error-free effort in the field.

Catlin's nerves were eased once he watched the bats push four runs across in the bottom of the first. The Lancers jumped into the lead when Kyri Washington, who finished 2-for-3, smashed a double to deep left center, scoring Travis Biddix from first.  After Washington scored on a wild pitch, the Lancers added two more runs when Osinski took a 1-0 fastball to right center, pushing across Alex Lewis and Connar Bastaich who had both singled earlier in the inning.

"It felt good," said Osinski of his two-out, two-RBI single. "I have to give it to our pitching today. They came out and battled all weekend and we were able to get a few runs across today and Catlin pitched a good game. I was trying to get ahead in the count and find good pitches to drive."

Longwood extended its lead to 5-0 after Bastaich drove a 3-2 pitch down the right field line scoring Washington from second with two outs. The Lancer first baseman picked up his second RBI of the day in the sixth, driving a hard grounder to the left side that was just out of reach of the Army third baseman and plating Konvicka.

"It's been a mix offensively for us," said Mau. "It's nice to see Connar do what he's capable of and having a huge offensive day for us going 4-for-5. Then Colton doing a great job in the leadoff spot again and Kyri being Kyri going 2-for-3."

With a solid lead in place, Longwood turned to Ryan Jones (S, 1) in relief of Catlin. The sidewinding sophomore worked a near perfect 3.2 innings to earn his first save of the year allowing just a single hit while fanning three. Jones lowered his ERA to 1.29 after the stellar showing.

"Jones entered in what was not an easy situation," said Mau. "There was a lot of ball game left there and he did a good job of calming the storm and not allowing it to snow ball into a big inning. Then he took charge and put up zeros the rest of the way and did a great job of competing and threw the ball really well."

The series victory was the first of the season for the Lancers. Longwood is scheduled to return to the diamond with a pair of midweek contests at North Carolina Central and Richmond.