Leading Off
• Longwood enters Wednesday's game after winning a weekend series against Niagara.
• Longwood enters the matchup prepared for its first midweek game of the year and the first of two against MEAC opponent N.C. Central.
• After a rough weekend against Auburn, Longwood put together a solid weekend against Niagara, led by a pair of one-run wins in the series.
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Nate Blakeney leads Longwood with a .409 batting average as the only Lancer starter above .300 through the first six games of the season. Blakeney hit .500 in the weekend series against Niagara.
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Tyler Morgan has been a go-to pitcher out of the bullpen, posting a team best 2.25 ERA in a team-high three appearances and sports a 1-0 record.
Last Time Out
•Longwood swept a doubleheader against Niagara to win the three-game set. The first game was an 8-7 victory. Game two was knotted at four in the bottom of the ninth when
Jack Schnell started the frame with a pinch-hit single, which was the winning run on
Nate Blakeney's single later in the inning.
By The Numbers
• In just his second career start junior right-hander Cody Boydstun put together a gem, tossing 7.2 innings against Niagara on February 24. Boydstun struck out eight batters with two earned runs allowed, setting career highs in punchouts and innings pitched.
• Longwood won via walk-off for the first time in 2018 when Nate Blakeney plated pinch-runner Scott Carter on the first pitch with the bases loaded in the second game of a doubleheader against Niagara on February 24.
• The Lancers had a pair of walk-off wins in 2017. Michael Osinski ripped a walk-off home run against Winthrop in the first game of a doubleheader on April 21, 2017.
• Blakeney provided his first-career walkoff in the first game of a doubleheader against Lehigh on May 6, 2018.
• Sophomore shortstop Antwaun Tucker picked up his eighth career triple against Niagara on February 24. His eight triples have him inside the top 10 for triples in a career at Longwood, tied for eighth place with three others.
• Tucker led the Big South and finished seventh in the NCAA in 2017 with seven triples.
• The seven triples were the second most in a single season in program history and the most in the Division I era.
Scouting N.C. Central
• Off to a 5-2 start in the first two weeks of action, N.C. Central rides into Farmville with consecutive winning weekends against Wagner and NJIT.
• N.C. Central has five players on the MEAC Preseason All-Conference teams: sophomore second baseman Corey Joyce is on the first team while senior pitcher Devin Sweet, senior pitcher Justice Sampson, senior shortstop Dominic Cuevas, and sophomore outfielder Carter Williams are all on the second team.
• N.C. Central is led by six players hitting better than .300 with Ryan Decker (.800, 4-for5), Joyce (.423, 11-for-26), Andrew Valichka (.346, 9-for-26), Timmy Fischvogt (.333, 5-for-15), Zach Michalski (.308, 8-for-26), and Cuevas (.300, 6-for-20).
• Joyce paces the squad with three home runs and 10 RBI with three doubles, putting up an .885 slugging percentage.
• N.C. Central has also gotten some solid pitching with six players who have tossed 3.0 innings or more with ERAs of 4.00 or lower. Austin Vernon (0.00 ERA, 3.0 IP), Nick Caregnato (2.70 ERA, 3.1 IP), Sampson (2.70 ERA, 6.2 IP), Chris Kernen (3.18 ERA, 5.2 IP), Jonathan Figueroa (3.27 ERA, 11.0 IP), and Jake McCort (3.27 ERA, 11.0 IP).
• Sweet has a 4.97 ERA and is 1-0 with 16 strikeouts in 12.2 innings across three starts.
#GoWood
