Farmville, Va. – Longwood baseball made its home debut on Friday afternoon at Buddy Bolding Stadium, and the Lancers split with Maryland Eastern Shore to open a four-game series. The Hawks took game one 3-0 before Longwood (1-1) rallied to win game two 4-2.

Senior left-hander Jon Peterson and junior right-hander Josh Longabaugh were masterful out of the bullpen in game two to help Longwood pick up the win. Peterson was a strike-throwing machine and pitched 2.1 perfect innings while striking out the final five batters he faced to earn the win. He set a career high with six punchouts. Longabaugh added his first three strikeouts as a Lancer in 2.1 innings.

"Jon did a heck of a job," said Longwood fifth-year head coach Ryan Mau. "He challenged the zone. His fastball command was really good tonight. His changeup had a ton of run and sink, and that was a swing and miss pitch for him. I was really, really proud of the effort Jon gave us tonight."

Meanwhile, the Lancer offense rallied from a 2-0 hole, and a three-run sixth inning powered the team to the win. Carlos Garrido pounded an RBI triple, the first triple in his Lancer career, to the warning track in dead center to send in the winning run.

"The three-spot in the sixth, which is what we call a big inning, is what we are shooting for," said Mau. We like our chances when we do that. Carlos Garrido was a huge part of that with an outstanding at bat. It was a great at bat, a great swing, and it couldn't have been more timely."

"Offensively, I thought Antwaun Tucker had a really good day at the plate for us," said Mau. "A couple of freshman were able to get their first collegiate hits. Hunter Gilliam had some great at bats and was able to cash in on his first hit, and Cullan Wadsworth put down a bunt for a hit. It was a good day for those guys to get out there and show what they are capable of."

The start time for the third game of the series has been moved back to 3:00 p.m. on Saturday because of expected wet weather.

Game 1: Maryland Eastern Shore 3, Longwood 0

In game one, five of Maryland Eastern Shore's seven hits stayed in the infield, and the Hawks took advantage of an error and a pair of bunt singles to take the lead and make it stick.

"I thought we came out a little tight," said Mau. "Just opening day jitters perhaps, and we got ourselves in a bit of a tough position there in game one."

After a fifth-inning leadoff double by Nick Roets, Carson Davis singled for a bunt, and Lancer shortstop Antwaun Tucker threw the ball away to score Roets. Another bunt single put runners at the corners before Dillon Oxyer singled in a second. Matt Smith poked a sacrifice fly to left field with the bases loaded for a 3-0 lead.

Dwayne Marshall (1-0) earned the win by keeping the Lancer offense off-balance and only surrendered four hits in seven innings. He struck out seven.

Longwood's best chance came in the fifth inning when freshman Hunter Gilliam led off with a single, but Maryland Eastern Shore turned a double play on a hard hit ball by Cullan Wadsworth. Antwaun Tucker followed it up with a single, but Maryland Eastern Shore's defense again made a nice play on a hard-hit ball by Jawan McAllister to end the inning.

Tyler Morgan (0-1) pitched into the fifth for the Lancers and took the loss despite striking out seven.. John Gregory came on in relief and struck out a pair in three innings of work.

"Morgan did not have his best stuff by far tonight," said Mau. "He wasn't able to throw his offspeed in the zone. His breaking ball is typically his go-to pitch, so he was having to live off of his fastball. He competed with one pitch today, and it gave us an opportunity to be in a ballgame."

Antwaun Tucker had two of the Longwood's four hits in the game.

Game 2: Longwood 4, Maryland Eastern Shore 2

Maryland Eastern Shore jumped out to an early lead by scoring a run in the second inning, and the Hawks chased Longwood start Alec Abdalah in the third inning. Longabaugh came on in relief and escaped a bases loaded jam while only allowing one run.

Peterson relieved him in the fifth with two outs and runners on first and second, and he forced a weak grounder to third from Payton Hoskins that De'Andre Pitts handled easily to get out of trouble.

The Lancer offense broke through in the bottom of the sixth with a three-run rally. With Jacob Mitchell on first due to an error at short, Nate Blakeney rapped a single through the right side, and Mitchell took third on a throwing error. A wild pitch scored Mitchell before Garrido smashed his RBI triple to center. Garrido scored one batter later on a wild pitch.

Peterson mopped up the seventh by fanning out the side.

"The guys definitely relaxed once they put one on the board," said Mau. "I thought they did a good job in game two of doing that. It was a small step, but it was a step we needed after the first game. We've got a long way to go. It's a long season, and I expect us to come out much better tomorrow, much more relaxed, and show what we are really capable of doing.

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