High Point, N.C. – Senior right-handed starter Travis Burnette spun a gem in Longwood's series-opening win against the High Point Panthers, 4-3, Friday evening at Williard Stadium.
 
Burnette pitched 7.1 quality innings and allowed just three runs, two earned, with five strikeouts in the victory for third-place Longwood (19-12, 7-3 Big South). The Lancers rallied for four runs in the late innings to take game one at High Point (20-10, 5-2 Big South).
 
"It was a great Friday night win with two front-line arms going toe-to-toe and was a great series-opening win for us," Longwood head coach Ryan Mau said after the Lancers took the seventh consecutive opener in a series. "[Burnette] is our workhorse, he's our captain, and we feel really good when he's out there pitching on Friday nights."
 
Burnette (5-1) outdueled High Point starter Scot Hoffman, who didn't give up a hit until there were two outs in the sixth and struck out a career high eight batters. Hoffman received no decision and relief pitcher Tyler Britton (4-1) took the loss after allowing three runs in 3.0 innings of work out of the bullpen. Devin Gould got the final five outs to nail down the save, his third. Longwood is 7-1 in games Burnette has started, all coming in the opening game of each series for the Lancers.
 
The Lancers didn't have a hit until the sixth inning, but rallied in the frame to tie the game. With the Lancers trailing 1-0, senior captain C.J. Roth had Longwood's first hit of the game, a sharp two-out single back up the middle into center field. Osinski was the next batter and was hit by a pitch to move Roth into scoring position. Alex Lewis, Longwood's RBI leader, crushed his 12th double of the season to bring in a run and tie the game. Lewis leads Longwood with 31 RBI on the season. The rally was enough to knock Hoffman, already with a high pitch count at the time, out of the game.
 
"We made an adjustment offensively to get things going," Mau said. "[Hoffman] was doing a good job of mixing his pitches, but we came out with a better game plan and things worked out later in the game."
 
In the seventh inning with the game tied, the Lancers rallied to take the lead. Senior first baseman Connar Bastaich started the frame with a walk and got into scoring position on a sacrifice bunt by Carlos Garrido. Brandon Harvell hit a flare single and Bastaich scored the go-ahead run for Longwood. The Lancers added a pair of insurance runs in the eighth inning on the way to the one-run win.
 
"[Harvell] has done a great job of providing offense from down in the order and playing solid defense," Mau said of his junior, who started in right field instead of his regular position of third base and picked up an outfield assist in the win. "We feel like we have a good lineup all around and we have a bunch of guys capable of doing multiple things. It's something I told them before the game, we're 30 strong."
 
Everyone in the lineup contributed to the win for the Lancers. Seven of the nine Lancers picked up a hit, paced by C.J. Roth, who was 2-for-4 with a pair of runs scored. The two Lancers without hits, Garrido and Sammy Miller, each contributed as Miller scored a run and Garrido put down a sacrifice bunt that led to the winning run.
 
Lewis picked up two RBI in the win. The junior has 31 RBI on the season, already a career high for the slugger. Lewis was 1-for-4 at the plate and extended his hitting streak to a team-best 14 games.
 
"[Lewis] has done it all season long," Mau said. "Before the game in batting practice there were a bunch of guys going around and touching his bat and trying to pick up some of the mojo he has right now. Everyone wants to touch the guy; he's on fire."
 
Lewis is having a breakout junior season with a .379 batting average, 31 RBI, four home runs, 12 doubles, and 68 total bases. All are career highs for Lewis and lead the Lancers.
 
Osinski contributed to the win with an RBI single to drive in Miller in the eighth inning and extended Longwood's lead to two. For the sophomore shortstop it was the 13th run driven in on the season. Miller leads Longwood with 26 runs scored on the season.
 
"This really was a well-played game," Mau said. "There were two strong pitchers going back and forth, some timely hitting, and great defense. This is what Friday night baseball is all about."
 
The Lancers have won four consecutive games in Big South play and can win their third consecutive conference series with a win Saturday. Left-handed freshman starter Steven Farkas (2-1) gets the start for Longwood opposite of junior right-hander Andre Scrubb (5-2) for High Point. First pitch is set for 5 p.m. at Williard Stadium.
 
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