ROCK HILL, S.C. – Longwood senior ace Travis Burnette spun a gem to lead the Lancers to a 6-1 win in game one of a weekend set against Winthrop at Winthrop Ballpark Friday evening.
 
Burnette (7-1) tossed 8.0 innings of one-run ball and spread out four hits and two walks with six strikeouts to lead the Lancers (29-21, 13-9 Big South) to a win, setting the school record for most wins in a season as a Division I program.
 
"Burnette was spectacular, he threw all three pitches for strikes, and having him out there makes calling the game really easy," Longwood head coach Ryan Mau said after the win. "He executed everything we asked of him. He had them off balance all night."
 
The right-hander outdueled Sam Kmiec (6-5) for Winthrop (26-22, 10-9 Big South), who took a tough-luck loss after a quality start. Kmiec tossed 6.0 innings of two-run ball in the loss. Longwood improved to 15-2 in games when receiving a quality start.
 
"[Burnette] was in total control," Mau said. "The pitch count was down, he was getting some quick innings, and I thought he might have a shot at going the distance. He just worked himself into a little bit of a jam in the eighth inning. When I made the visit I told him he did a great job and he told me he wasn't done. I let him finish that inning off and he got out of it. Just an unbelievable performance, a gutsy performance from our captain."
 
The 8.0 innings for Burnette were the second most the senior has tossed in a game this season. The start was Burnette's team-leading seventh quality start of the season.
 
Longwood got offensive support for Burnette, outhitting Winthrop 12-5. Longwood improved to 19-3 when outhitting an opponent. Connar Bastaich, Michael Osinski, and Alex Lewis were each 3-for-5 in the win. Lewis and Osinski each had a pair of RBI in the game.
 
"That's what we need from the middle of the order," Mau said. "It was a great job of timely hitting and a great job of execution. We took bags with some stolen bases in the game to help put some runs on the board. Those guys, the middle of the lineup, are all locked in I hope they continue to stay locked in."
 
In the win Lewis doubled, while Osinski homered. Lewis leads the team with 42 RBI. The home run for Osinski was the first of the season for the sophomore shortstop, who had the most among returning players from a season ago.
 
"It was a pretty good blast there [by Osinski] and the dugout kind of game him the silent treatment with it being his first of the year," Mau said. "He put a great swing on it. He's been working hard, barreling a lot of baseballs, and it was good to see him finally take one deep."
 
With a left-hander, Kmiec, on the mound Sammy Miller was in the lead-off spot for the Lancers. Miller went 1-for-3 out of the lead-off spot with a pair of walks, a stolen base, and three runs scored as he reached in each of his final three plate appearances.
 
"Against left-handers [Miller] is tough and he was a pest up there," Mau said. "He's a table-setter. He did a great job of finding a way to grab a base and coming across to score those runs."
 
Colton Konvicka made his first start since suffering an injury March 24 against Radford, just his third game played in that stretch. Konvicka, who got the start in center field, was 1-for-5 with a stolen base and a run scored in his return to the lineup.
 
"He was excited, he hasn't played in nearly two months and he got after it after the very pitch," Mau said. "He was excited to be out there and took some pretty good swing. He does an unbelievable job for us defensively in center field. It was good to see him break through there with a hit later on."
 
Konvicka made two putouts in the game, making a grab on the warning track in center field to end the home half of the eighth inning.
 
The win for Longwood sets a new single-season high in conference wins for the Lancers and guarantees their first winning conference season. The Lancers are also guaranteed a winning season for the first time since the 2012 season. Longwood goes for the series win against Winthrop Saturday. Luke Simpson (0-3) is expected to get the start opposite of Thad Harris (6-3) for Winthrop. First pitch is set for 2 p.m. at Winthrop Ballpark.
 
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