FARMVILLE, Va. – It took a while, eight innings to be exact, for Longwood to put an extended rally together, but the Lancers finally broke through with four runs  on four hits in the eighth to blow open a 2-2 ballgame and clinch the series victory in a 6-2 win over North Carolina A&T on Sunday afternoon.

Longwood (16-18) needed every clutch hit it could find in Sunday's tight finale, and three Lancers stepped up with huge, timely base knocks to lead the comeback over the Aggies. Sammy Miller was the first to deliver, taking an 0-1 pitch right back up the middle with two on and two out to tie the game in the bottom of the seventh. The freshman, who was filling in for Kyri Washington on Sunday, leveled the game at 2-2 and set the table for the decisive eighth inning.

In the next frame, it was Connar Bastaich and Brandon Harvell who played the hero role as both provided RBI-knocks to break the game open for the Lancers. Bastaich drove a double down the right field line to score the eventual game-winning run, scoring Colton Konvicka all the way from first while Harvell lent the insurance as the third baseman dug in with two outs and singled back up the middle for a two-RBI knock and the 6-2 margin.

While the bats took a moment to get rolling, Travis Burnette was strong in a bounce-back start, giving the Lancers their third quality start of the weekend as the right-hander went six innings of four-hit, two-run ball in taking no decision. The bullpen followed with three strong innings allowing just a single hit, as Ryan Jones escaped a pivotal bases-loaded jam with back-to-back strikeouts in the top of the eighth, giving the Lancers all the momentum to complete the comeback.

"I thought Travis was outstanding today and gave us a great, great start," said head coach Ryan Mau. "Offensively, we were a little slow out of the gate, but did a great job of putting up runs late when we needed and I thought we did a good job defensively all day long."

Once again, North Carolina A&T (4-30) jumped out to an early lead on the back of a two-run homer from designated hitter Erik Montero in the top of the fourth inning.  The Aggies would give Longwood a run back in the fifth as Alex Lewis doubled before advancing to third on a throwing error in a failed pickoff before scoring as Miller reached on a fielding error by the shortstop.

From that point on, it was all quiet until Miller threw the game into a deadlock with his two-out single to center field. The game-tying rally started with full-count walks to both Michael Osinski and Brandon Harvell. The duo's patient and hard-fought at-bats afforded Miller the opportunity to send a bounding ball back through the box, which scored Osinski easily from second.

"That was a big situation for us, obviously, in a very tight ballgame," said Mau. "To have a freshman like Sammy come through in that way was pretty good to watch. I'm proud of the way he put together an at-bat there and came through in the clutch when we needed him."

The game was tied, but North Carolina A&T seemed determined to jump back in front during the top of the eighth, knocking a single and drawing a walk off Allen Ellis before Ryan Jones entered the game with just one out.

Jones got off to a rocky start himself, loading the bases by plunking the first batter he faced and hanging the Lancers' chances in a precarious position. The sophomore sidewinder showed off nerves of steel in the game-defining frame, and responded by fanning back-to-back batters with his electric slider to stomp out the threat and leave the game tied.

"I thought that was the ballgame right there to be honest with you," said Mau of the bases loaded jam. "That was going to make or break it and with the bases loaded and in a tough situation, Ryan Jones continued to impress. He escaped, he escaped again with two big time punchouts to steal the momentum and spark us offensively."

With the momentum swinging wildly into the Longwood dugout, the Lancers went to work and rewarded Jones' harrowing escape with four runs in the bottom of the eighth. After Colton Konvicka yanked a one-out single though the left side of the infield, the junior first baseman Connar Bastaich stepped in and produced the game winning knock, a double down the right field line with Konvicka on the move on an apparent hit-and-run.

"It wasn't on," said Bastaich, alluding to the potential hit-and-run. "I saw Colton stealing early and then the pitcher threw a curveball up that I decided to take the other way. It just happened that he was running and scored on the hit."

Bastaich finished the day 2-for-4 with the RBI and a run scored. The 2-for-4 showing at the plate is the 13th multi-hit game on the season for the first baseman, who continues to deliver hit after hit in his first year with the Lancers.

"The guy is a good hitter," said Mau. "Every day he brings quality at-bats and every day the production is there, so no surprise that he is the one to deliver for us."

Longwood was not done at just one run, however, as Brandon Delk got in on the RBI-train with a rocket of a double off the left field wall to plate Bastaich a batter later. Then, with the bases loaded after a hit-by-pitch and a walk, Brandon Harvell chopped a single back through the middle, scoring a pair to bust the game wide open in the late innings at 6-2.

"I thought the top of the order did a great job of getting us going in that inning," said Mau. "Then you have Brandon Harvell, a guy that's been struggling as of late, deliver the big single to break it open."

The win moves Longwood to a single game under .500 on the season, the closest the Lancers have been to that mark since the opening weekend of the season. The Lancers will try to move even on the season with a Tuesday night game versus North Carolina Central at Buddy Bolding Stadium. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. as the Lancers continue their eight-game home stand before welcoming Liberty for a three-game set over the weekend.

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