FARMVILLE, Va. – Longwood ran into a buzzsaw named Noah Song to start a two-game series against Patriot League champion Navy on Saturday night. Song, the nation's strikeout leader, cruised in his six innings while striking out eight in his final regular season start to lead Navy (35-15, 18-7 Patriot League) to an 8-2 win.
 
The Lancers (10-35, 4-17 Big South) had a hit in each of the first two innings, but Song (10-0) elevated his game to another level and retired 12 straight from the before Antwaun Tucker roped a single to center in the sixth inning. Song became the first pitcher in the nation to 10 wins this season while only giving up three hits without a walk. The senior broke Navy's single-season strikeout record, with his eight strikeouts giving him 141 on the season.
 
"'Noah Song, that's a future big-leaguer,' is what I told the guys," said Longwood head coach Ryan Mau. "That stuff is a different level, and there's a reason his numbers are what they are, and there's a reason there's so many scouts there to see him. That guy's something special. Once we got him out of the game, I thought we took some pretty good at bats later on and tried to get on the board."
 
Navy's offense staked Song to a four-run lead in the third inning once Zach Stevens roped a two-run double to the wall in left-center. A few batters later, Liam Lowery tagged an opposite field home run with two outs to left for a 4-0 lead.
 
Lancer starter Andrew Melnyk (0-4) hung tough with the Patriot League's top offense and pitched into the sixth inning, marking the freshman's third straight start where he has gone at least five. He struck out three while giving up five runs, all earned, on six hits and three walks in 5.1 innings.
 
"I thought he gave us a good effort," said Mau. "His command kind of came and went a little bit, which cost us some runs, but overall, he kept us around the game."
 
A two-out rally extended Navy's lead in the sixth. With two on, Michael Coritz lined a two-run triple down the line, his first triple of the season, to push the lead to 6-0. Zach Biggers ripped an RBI single on the ground through the left side to make it 7-0.
 
Longwood's seventh and eighth inning rallies off of Navy's bullpen were cut short after Coritz and Biggers turned a pair of slick double plays that limited Longwood to one run through those two innings. Grant Keller had an RBI single in the ninth for the Lancers for the final score.
 
"I thought we hit the ball hard," said Mau. "Probably could have grabbed a few more runs there, but there were some really good defensive plays. You've got to tip your cap. They pitched it, played solid defense and had timely hitting. That's why they're a good team."
 
The two teams take the field once again on Sunday afternoon. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.
 
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