FARMVILLE, Va. – A wild opening day tilt between Longwood and Purdue Fort Wayne went down to the last batter on Friday night at Buddy Bolding Stadium. Both offenses lit up the scoreboard, but Purdue Fort Wayne outlasted a late Longwood rally to win 10-8 behind Robert Young III's four RBI.
 
The Mastodons used a patient approach at the plate to draw 10 walks while taking advantage of big hits by Young III and Dylan Stewart. The two drove in six of Purdue Fort Wayne's 10 runs to outduel a Longwood lineup that piled up 15 base hits.
 
"We gave away too many freebies, as we call them," said sixth-year head coach Ryan Mau. "Unfortunately, our pitching staff really struggled to throw strikes, and that was the difference tonight."
 
Purdue Fort Wayne (1-0) plated nine runs between the fourth, fifth and sixth innings as they put up seven hits, drew five walks and took advantage of three Longwood errors.
 
Yet Longwood's (0-1) combination of Antwaun Tucker, Cullan Wadsworth, Jack Schnell and Andrew Gorham didn't let the team bow out. The quartet were a fearsome foursome, as all four banged out multiple hits while going 11-20 at the plate.
 
Wadsworth equaled a career high with three hits while finishing a home run short of the cycle, and Tucker scored three times to go with a triple. Schnell swatted a career-best two doubles while driving in two runs. Gorham had a three-hit game in his first career game at Longwood while also driving in one run.
 
"I couldn't be prouder of the offense, the way they performed today and the fight to keep us around the game and have a shot there in the end," Mau said. "Defensively and from a pitching standpoint, we put our offense in a tough position, and they continued to fight and produce, and they are the reason that we were in that game tonight. Tucker, Wadsworth, Schnell and Gorham had great days for us offensively with multiple hits and some clutch hits."
 
Purdue Fort Wayne erased Longwood's 2-1 lead in the fourth behind Young III's two-run double down the left field line. Wadsworth answered for the Lancers by smashing a two-run triple to the right-centerfield gap, but the Mastodons bounced back.
 
This time, Stewart delivered the clutch base knock with a two-out, two-run single up the gut to take a 6-4 lead in the fifth. Young III tacked on two more runs with a two-run triple in the sixth as part of a four-run inning that pushed the lead to 10-4.
 
Longwood's offense responded in the bottom of the seventh. Wadsworth doubled home Tucker, and Schnell sliced an RBI double down the left field line that cut the lead to four. Andrew Gorham smoked a single up the middle that plated Schnell from second to trim the score to 10-7.
 
While the offense rallied, the pitching duo of Aidan McEvoy and Colton Hutt kept Purdue Fort Wayne off the board through the final three innings to set up a wild finish in the bottom of the ninth. The two struck out seven while only walking two.
 
"It was good to get a couple of young guys on the mound, and I thought Aidan McEvoy was outstanding," said Mau. "He's really come a long way, and it was nice to see him have the success he did. Colton Hutt as well. It was nice to see him step in there in that role and keep them off the board there in the back third of the game so we had that opportunity to come back."
 
In the final frame, Longwood loaded the bases with two outs. Freshman Justin Looney, fresh off picking up his first collegiate hit in the eighth inning, patiently drew a two-out walk that cut the lead to 10-8. With the tying run at second base, Tucker hit a bouncer up the middle that Purdue Fort Wayne reliever Sean Ferguson grabbed and threw to first to end the game.
 
"I thought Justin Looney had a great at bat there in a very difficult situation in the bottom of the ninth to draw the walk and give our best hitter an opportunity there at the end," said Mau. "Again, very proud of the offensive fight. Love where we're at there, we just have to be way better from a pitching and defense standpoint. You're not going to win a lot of games, and you're not going to be in many games when you give away the type of bases that we gave away today."
 
Cameron Boyd (1-0) earned the win after pitching five innings while giving up four runs on eight hits. He struck out eight. Ferguson earned the save after entering with the bases loaded and two outs.
 
Logan Berrier (0-1) took the loss. He surrendered five runs on five hits while walking two and striking out one after pitching through the fifth and into the sixth inning.
 
The two teams square off for a doubleheader on Saturday afternoon, with game one beginning at 12 p.m. at Buddy Bolding Stadium.
 
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