FARMVILLE, Va. – Purdue Fort Wayne starters Chase Phelps and Tyler Kissinger turned in strong performances on the mound to lead the Mastodons to a doubleheader sweep over Longwood, 8-3 and 11-0, in a pair of seven-inning games on a cold Saturday afternoon at Buddy Bolding Stadium.
Phelps (1-0) opened the twinbill by spinning 5.1 innings of three-run ball in the 8-3 win in the opener, and Kissinger (1-0) followed by flirting with a complete game before exiting after 6.1 innings of shutout baseball. Owen Pyatt closed out game two after Kissinger's exit to preserve a three-hit shutout and give Purdue Fort Wayne's bullpen 2.1 scoreless innings of work on the day.
That effort stifled a Longwood (0-3) lineup that pounded 15 hits on the way to eight runs in Friday's series opener. Sophomore designated hitter
Dillon Champagne knocked out singles in both games to extend his hitting streak to three games, and third baseman
Nate Blakeney tagged three hits and scored twice in Saturday's opener, but Purdue Fort Wayne's defense limited the damage from the rest of the Lancer order.
With the Mastodon arms keeping Longwood's bats in check, the Purdue Fort Wayne (3-0) offense went to work and turned 22 hits into 19 runs on the day. Leadoff man Aaron Chapman sparked that effort from the top of the line, finishing 5-for-9 with three runs on the day, while shortstop Jack Lang drove in three runs in game one, and outfielder Drew Reich and second baseman Trenton Stoner combined to drive in seven more in game two.
Longwood head coach
Ryan Mau deployed seven pitchers in the twinbill, with freshmen
Zane Eggleston shining with 2.0 innings of one-hit, one-run ball out of the bullpen in game one and fellow newcomer
Michael Tolson making appearances in each game.
The finale of the four-game series is set for noon on Sunday.
Game One: Early Deficit Dooms Lancers in 8-3 Loss
Jeff Lang's career day at the plate led Purdue Fort Wayne past Longwood 8-3 in the first game of a Saturday doubleheader at Buddy Bolding Stadium.
The Mastadons' junior shortstop posted a career high with three hits and matched his collegiate best with three RBI, driving those in with a two-run double in the second inning and an RBI single in the fourth. That early outburst gave Purdue Fort Wayne (2-0) starter Chase Phelps (1-0) a lead he would hold on to through his 5.1 innings of work and reliever William Wentz protected to the final out.
Longwood third baseman
Nate Blakeney paced the Lancers with three more hits and a pair of runs to continue the hot start to his senior campaign, but Phelps limited the damage from the rest of Longwood's lineup. The lone blemishes on his 5.1 innings of three-run ball came on sophomore catcher Devin Kowalski's two-run single in the fourth inning and
Cullan Wadsworth's RBI fielder's choice in the third.
Phelps kept Longwood from climbing out of an early hole that began when Lang put the Mastadons on top with his second-inning and ballooned during a five-run fourth inning that was aided by four Longwood errors. Longwood responded with two runs in the bottom half of the fourth on Kowalski's single, but Phelps and Wentz teamed up to shut out Longwood the rest of the way.
Game Two: Kissinger's Near-Complete Game Completes Doubleheader Sweep
Purdue Fort Wayne starter Tyler Kissinger came within two outs of a complete game and settled for a combined three-hit shutout in an 11-0 victory in game two.
Kissinger struck out eight and scattered three hits and three walks against the Lancers, whose lone knocks came from the top half of the order in
Jack Schnell,
Dillon Champagne and
Andrew Gorham. However, the Lancers could not move any of their baserunners past second against a Mastodon defense that made just two errors over Saturday's 14 total innings of play.
Chapman jumpstarted Purdue Fort Wayne's offense with four hits and came around to score twice. He was one of four Mastodons with multiple hits in the game, leading a quartet that included Trenton Stoner with three and Garrett Lake and Robert Young III with two each.
Stoner delivered four RBI with a pair of two-run singles, including his first RBI knock in a five-run first inning that put Kissinger into cruise control the rest of the way. Reich also sent in three runs, while Young scored three times from the cleanup spot.
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