HIGH POINT, N.C. – Less than 14 hours after a tight game one, High Point pounced on Longwood in game two on Sunday morning. The Panthers broke open the game with big second and third innings thanks to seven hits and a pair of Longwood errors on the way to a 12-2 win.
The bottom of High Point's order started the rally in the second after Ryan Russell hit a line drive triple to center to start the half inning. Sam
Zayicek singled him home, and then the top of the order drove in three more for a 4-0 lead.
Joe Johnson led off the bottom of the third with a double down the left field line and later scored on a groundout. With two outs, an error at short extended the inning, and High Point (14-18, 7-7 Big South) took advantage by plating two more to go up 7-0.
"We didn't make plays defensively, and it really hurt us early on," said Longwood head coach
Ryan Mau.
Meanwhile, Johnson kept Longwood (9-25, 4-10 Big South) off balance at the plate by pitching to contact for seven innings. He only surrendered one hit in his first five innings before Longwood finally broke through in the sixth and seventh. Johnson (3-3) earned the win after going seven innings and only surrendering two runs on six hits without a walk while striking out two.
The bottom of the order put the Lancers on the board in the sixth after back-to-back hits by freshmen
Cullan Wadsworth and
Michael Peterson put runners at second and third with no outs.
Antwaun Tucker tagged a sac fly to right field to plate one run.
Grant Keller hit a grounder up the middle for an RBI infield single in the top of the seventh for Longwood, and the junior finished the game 3-4 for his second three-hit game this season. Wadsworth added a pair of hits while going 2-3 at the plate for the Lancers.
"Wadsworth and Keller put together really good at bats today," said Mau. "We need more from the rest of the lineup."
Andrew
Melnyk (0-2) took the loss for Longwood after surrendering seven runs, four earned, on seven hits with two walks.
Nick Fuchs took over to start the fourth and struck out four in 3.1 relief innings.
Longwood will aim to avoid the sweep on Monday in the series finale to start a busy week that features five games in six days. First pitch is set for 3 p.m.
#GoWood
