CHARLESTON, S.C. – With the score locked at two apiece in a tight contest between The Citadel and Longwood baseball, Jack Schnell delivered in the 10^th inning.
 
Cullan Wadsworth prowled second base as Schnell poked a two-out RBI double down the left field line, and Longwood (2-0) took a 3-2 lead. Hunter Gilliam added an RBI single for insurance one batter later, and closer Dillon Champagne came on in the bottom of the 10^th to slam the door shut in the 4-2 win.

A day after putting up 12 runs on 12 hits, Longwood never led until Schnell's double in the 10^th. Instead, Longwood battled back and erased an early two-run deficit while leaning on their pitching staff to overcome some defensive miscues.

"This was a character revealing win for us tonight," said head coach Ryan Mau. "Our guys stayed mentally tough and found ways to overcome adversity all night long. We faced a very solid arm who gave us some trouble, we struggled defensively, but the guys continued to fight through it and find a way to win. Hunter and Jack both had a clutch day at the plate. They came up with some big swings when we needed them most."
 
The two starting pitchers set the tone and dueled back and forth. For Longwood, Andrew Melnyk tied a career high with his six-inning start, and the sophomore struck out one. The big left-hander consistently executed when he had to, dancing around trouble and stranding seven runners while only giving up two runs, one earned, on five hits and a pair of walks.
 
Things didn't get any easier for The Citadel when Dylan Saale (1-0) took the ball from Melnyk to start the seventh inning. The right-hander simply got stronger in each of his three innings, which he capped by striking out the side in the bottom of the ninth. The true freshman earned the win and finished with four strikeouts and faced one batter more than the minimum in his stint. Champagne closed things out in the bottom of the 10^th by not allowing a hit for his second career save.

"Yesterday our offense really lead us, and today it was the pitching staff," Mau said. "I can't say enough about the toughness Melnyk showed for us. He was mixing all his pitches for strikes, which kept them off balance, and he continued to work around some of our defensive miscues. Dylan was spectacular in his first ever college game. He showed veteran poise in a very high pressure game. Champ is the guy we trust at the back end, and he was electric."
 
For The Citadel (0-2), Cameron Reeves matched Melnyk pitch for pitch, going six innings as well while only surrendering two runs. The right-hander was the Bulldog ace a season ago while posting a 1.04 ERA, and he struck out nine while walking two and giving up four hits. Devin Beckley came on in relief in the seventh and struck out five before giving way to Logan Barker (0-1). Barker pitched a clean ninth before running into Schnell and trouble in the 10^th.
 
After The Citadel took a 2-0 lead through three innings, the Lancers scratched and clawed to even it back up in the fourth. With one out, Ricky Jimenez and Schnell both singled, and Gilliam knocked home Jimenez with a base hit up the gut. Eliot Dix followed him with an RBI single to the right side that tied the score at two.
 
Dix now has seven RBI through two games to lead the team. Schnell is 4-7 with four RBI through two games, and Gilliam added his first multi-hit day, going 2-4 with two RBI in game two.
 
The Lancers go for the sweep in game three on Sunday at Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park. First pitch against The Citadel is set for 1 p.m. Longwood will send junior Colton Hutt (0-0, 0.00 ERA) to the mound to face Lathan Todd (0-0, 0.00 ERA). The game will be broadcast on ESPN+.
 
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