FARMVILLE, VA. – Longwood junior right-hander Cody Wager pitched the final four innings of Longwood's shutout of the Wagner Seahawks as the Lancers opened the 2016 home slate with a 6-0 win Friday afternoon.
 
Wager (1-0) stepped to the mound in the sixth inning of a scoreless game after starting pitcher Travis Burnette held Wagner scoreless through five strong innings of work. Wager kept Wagner (0-1) off the board in the top of the sixth and became the pitcher of record in the bottom half when Longwood (1-3) broke out for three runs off of Wagner starter Mike Adams.
 
 "It's always good to win your home opener," Longwood head coach Ryan Mau said. "We got an excellent start from Travis Burnette, but he tweaked something in his core and that allowed us to introduce the fans to Cody Wager and he did a heck of a job."
 
Wager, a transfer from Pensacola State Community College in Florida, introduced himself to Farmville by holding Wagner scoreless in four innings of work with two hits allowed and struck out three batters. Wager finished strong by retiring the final nine batters he faced.
 
"I felt pretty good, I was a little nervous in that first inning, but then I settled in," Wager said after making his Longwood debut. "Not getting in at East Carolina hurt a little bit so I was pumped to get out here and pitch for this team. I'm excited to be here."
 
The native of West Palm Beach, Fla., threw 52 pitches, 36 for strikes, as he helped Longwood to its first win of the season.
 
"I saw supreme confidence on the mound from Wager," Mau said. "He had a three-pitch mix going and he did a great job keeping Wagner off balance tonight and putting them away."
 
Burnette did not factor into the decision despite a sharp start, spreading out five hits across five innings of work with no runs or walks allowed and fanned seven batters. Adams (0-1) took the loss for the Seahawks after pitching 5.2 innings with six hits allowed, two walks, seven strikeouts and all three runs of the sixth inning charged to him.
 
The offense was quiet for Longwood early, managing just two singles and one walk in the first five innings, but Longwood scored three in the sixth inning to take control, scoring the first two runs of the game on a two-run single by junior outfielder Drew Kitson with the bases loaded.
 
"Drew Kitson came up with a huge two-run hit to get us on the board and we took advantage of a couple free passes throughout the game," Mau said.
 
The Lancers added to their lead with one run in the seventh inning and two more in their final trip to the plate in the eighth inning. All three of the runs scored after the sixth inning came with two outs.
 
"We kept with our approach and came up with some timely two-out hitting throughout the game," Mau said. "When you don't go away with two outs, just try to extend at bats and put the ball in play good things happen."
 
In both the sixth and seventh innings junior third baseman Alex Lewis came up big with doubles. Lewis hit a high drive to the gap in left-centerfield that dropped in for a two-bagger to set up Longwood with a pair on and one out to spark the sixth-inning rally. Lewis then drove in a run on a two-out double in the seventh inning, finishing the game 2-for-4 with an RBI, a run scored, and those two doubles.
 
Hayes Nelson drove in a run in the eighth inning, plating Brandon Harvell, who reached on a two-out walk. Nelson, who got his first playing time of the season, scored in the next at bat when Sammy Miller roped a single to left.
 
With senior second baseman C.J. Roth out of the lineup Miller, a sophomore, made the start at second base and fellow sophomore Nelson got the start in left field. Miller, who started only seven games a season ago, has started all four for Longwood and is tied for the team lead in hits (4), doubles (2) and RBI (3).
 
Longwood plays game two of three against Wagner Saturday at 2 p.m. at Buddy Bolding Stadium. Right-hander Luke Simpson is expected to get the start on the mound for the Lancers in his season debut opposite of Austin Goeke for the Seahawks.
 
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