FARMVILLE, Va. – Longwood jumped on the board first on the road at ACC power Virginia, but the Cavalier offense woke up with a six-run fourth inning to take down Longwood 13-4.
Hunter Gilliam and
Carlos Garrido each tied career highs with three hits apiece for the Lancers (7-17 overall, 2-4 Big South) in the first game of a four-game road swing.
"I liked the way we came out offensively today," said Longwood head coach
Ryan Mau. "Hunter and Carlos came through with some clutch hits early on."
Longwood's offense struck right away in the first inning thanks to the freshman combination of
Cullan Wadsworth and Gilliam. Wadsworth drew a one-out walk before taking second on a wild pitch, and Gilliam knocked him in with an RBI single for a 1-0 lead.
Gilliam came through again in the third inning.
Jawan McAllister was hit by a pitch for the eighth time this season, and Gilliam whacked him home with his second RBI single of the game. The freshman had his second three-hit game for the Lancers.
The Cavaliers (14-10 overall, 5-4 ACC) rattled off six runs in the bottom of the fourth despite only registering two hits. After a leadoff single from Nate Eikhoff, Gilliam dropped a fly ball in right field from Alex Tappen that scored one. Virginia loaded the bases by drawing a walk and being hit with a pitch before Tanner Morris drew another walk to even the score. Two wild pitches, a fielder's choice and an RBI groundout plated the final four runs.
"We need much more out of our bullpen," said Mau. "We didn't throw enough strikes to give our team a chance."
The Lancers responded by driving in two runs in the fifth to cut the lead to two. With runners at first and third, Wadsworth squeezed home
Eli Mercado with a sacrifice bunt. Garrido poked a single up the middle to send McAllister home and trim the lead to 6-4.
Virginia pulled away with three runs in the bottom of the fifth and sixth innings to put the game out of reach.
Bryan Golnick (0-1) took the loss after surrendering four runs, two earned, on two walks and a hit in one relief inning.
Chesdin Harrington (1-0) picked up the win for Virginia after throwing four innings in relief. He allowed two runs on five hits while striking out eight.
The Lancers wrap up the four-game road trip by diving back into Big South play with a three-game series at UNC Asheville this weekend. Friday night's first pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m.
#GoWood
