FARMVILLE, Va. – A huge performance by the Longwood bullpen and clutch hitting on offense powered the Lancers (9-21, 4-8 Big South) past Charleston Southern (11-24, 1-10 Big South) in a doubleheader on Saturday afternoon. The Lancers won a pitcher's duel in game one 3-2, and
John Gregory and
Jon Peterson came up huge out of the bullpen in game two in a 7-6 win. The wins snapped a 10-game losing streak and gave Longwood the series for the fifth time in sixth meetings with Charleston Southern.
"I'm really proud of the guys' effort and energy," said Longwood head coach
Ryan Mau. "It takes a lot mentally to lock in for 18 innings of baseball on doubleheader days, but the guys answered the call."
Longwood's pitching staff came through when it mattered and stranded 23 Charleston Southern base runners between the two games.
Jon Peterson picked up two saves, and
John Gregory struck out six in a masterful performance to get the game two win.
Tyler Morgan only surrendered a pair of runs in six innings of work in game one, and
Josh Longabaugh combined with Peterson to close it down with three scoreless innings.
"John was outstanding," said Mau. "It was great to see him throw the baseball like that again. We were glad to have the old 'JG' back."
At the plate,
Jack Schnell broke out by going 4-5 on the day thanks to a 3-4 performance in game two. The sophomore tied a career high with four RBI in game two while punching out his first career triple to go with a double, and he finished a home run short of the cycle in the second game.
"Jack had a rough start to the season, but he has been swinging the bat well in practice and BP," said Mau. He had a good pinch hit at bat in game one and delivered for us, and it carried over momentum. I thought he was confident, and he put a couple good swings together and was rewarded finally. He's been a guy that's been putting some good swings on the ball the last two weeks, but he just hasn't been able to get the hit. Today he broke through, and that was great to see."
Jacob Mitchell also had a strong day at the plate after going 3-6 with two runs scored and two RBI.
Antwaun Tucker added four hits while hitting .444 with two RBI to go with a stolen base.
Game three is set for Sunday afternoon, and it is Princesses and Knights day at Buddy Bolding Stadium. First pitch is set for 1 p.m.
Game 1: Longwood 3, Charleston Southern 2
Morgan set the tone with six strong innings, and he struck out six while only giving up two runs, one earned, on six hits and four walks. Longabaugh (2-2) picked up where Morgan left off and pitched a perfect seventh to earn the win after the Lancer offense rallied for two runs to take the lead, and Peterson took over in the eighth. The senior surrendered a pair of hits but no damage in the eighth and the ninth while notching his second six-out save of the year.
"We went Morgan in game one because we knew how important the day was for us," said Mau. "That's our guy. That's our ace. I thought he did a great job of competing and challenging. They had great at bats against him, but he gave us the start we needed in game one and the start to the day.
"I though
Josh Longabaugh was outstanding," said Mau. "He came in in his role that we like him in, had a really good round there, and then we turned it over to the guy we trust in the back end with
Jon Peterson, and he took care of it."
Longwood's offense squeezed out a pair of runs after loading the bases with nobody out in the bottom of the seventh.
Jacob Mitchell worked the count and drew a walk that tied the game 2-2 before
De'Andre Pitts grounded into a double play up the middle that scored
Grant Keller scored from third for a 3-2 lead.
Early in the game, Tucker tapped an RBI single for a 1-0 Longwood lead, but Charleston Southern rallied with an RBI double by Ryan Stoudamire that tied it. Stoudamire scored on a passed ball with the bases loaded a few batters later.
Jaret Bennett (1-4) took a tough-luck loss for Charleston Southern. He was charged with all three runs after pitching into the seventh, but he only allowed four hits while striking out three.
Game 2: Longwood 7, Charleston Southern 6
In game two, both offenses racked up runs early on as Longwood jumped out to a 7-4 lead after four innings, but the two bullpens started stacking up zeroes after that point.
Gregory (2-2) led the charge out of the bullpen for the Lancers after coming on to start the fifth inning, and the junior threw four scoreless innings while striking out six. The junior left-hander ran into trouble in the ninth and gave way to Peterson with one run in, the tying run at second, the bases loaded and one out. A sacrifice fly cut the lead to 7-6, but Peterson struck out pinch hitter Josh Peters to seal the deal.
"Gregory went out there with supreme confidence, threw all three pitches in the zone and really attacked and set the tone," said Mau. "I couldn't have been happier for him to have the outing that he had."
"Peterson has been our most solid guy out of the bullpen and a guy that we trust," said Mau. "It wasn't a situation that I wanted to get in again, but we got ourselves in that again and we trust him in that role."
Schnell keyed the Lancer offense and erased an early Charleston Southern lead by smoking a two-run triple down the right field line, his first triple as a Lancer. Mitchell and Tucker each whacked an RBI single as well for a 4-1 lead after two innings.
CSU tied the game in the top of the fourth with a sac fly and a pair of bases-loaded walks, but Longwood bounced right back. With runners at first and third,
Hunter Gilliam dropped a perfect safety squeeze bunt for a single that broke the tie, and Schnell plated two more after lining a single to right field for a 7-4 lead.
The Lancer offense piled up 11 hits, and Tucker and Schnell both led the way with three hits apiece in the game. It was Tucker's third multi-hit game in his last five outings while it was Schnell's first of the season.
Tyler Weekley (1-6) took the loss for Charleston Southern after surrendering three runs in 2.2 innings while striking out six.
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