Longwood University Athletics

Games 22-24: Longwood (8-13, 2-6 Big South) at Gardner-Webb (7-10, 6-4 Big South)
Date & Time	Games 1 & 2: April 1, 2021 • 1 p.m. (DH) Game 3: April 2 • 1 p.m.
Location	Boiling Springs, N.C. (Bill Masters Field at John Henry Moss Stadium)
Series Notes	Longwood (PDF) | Gardner-Webb | Big South
Statistics	Longwood (HTML) | Gardner-Webb | Big South
Live Stats	Game 1: Gardner-Webb Live Stats Game 2: Gardner-Webb Live Stats Game 3: Gardner-Webb Live Stats
Social Media	@LongwoodLancers | @LongwoodBase

Lancer Leadoff

• Longwood travels to take on Gardner-Webb for its third weekend series in Big South play. The team has had two different weekend series postponed in the spring (at Presbyterian, vs. Campbell).
• Longwood's trip to Gardner-Webb will serve as the only scheduled meeting between the two sides.
• Gardner-Webb is one of three teams remaining on Longwood's schedule that the team will play only three times along with USC Upstate and UNC Asheville. Longwood plays all other Big South opponents at least five times.
• The Lancers open up April with the road series at Gardner-Webb before coming home for a long homestand.
• Longwood is third in the Big South in runs scored, with two players in the top 10 in the league (Cullan Wadsworth-17, T5; Jack Schnell-16, T7).
• Longwood ranks third in both strikeouts and strikeouts looking in the Big South, continuing a trend under head coach Ryan Mau. The team has ranked in the top three in the league four times in the past six seasons.

Last Time Out

• Longwood battled Richmond in a tightly contested doubleheader that was a late addition to the schedule for both teams. The Spiders won game one 5-4 on a walk-off balk, capping a two-run rally in the bottom of the ninth. Late runs helped Richmond pull away in game two 10-5.

By The Numbers

• Longwood and Gardner-Webb play in their only series of the 2021 season. Gardner-Webb, UNC Asheville and USC Upstate are the three teams remaining on the schedule that the Lancers are scheduled to only play one series against.
• Following the series at Gardner-Webb, the Lancers will head home for their longest homestand of 2021.
• The Lancers hold a .352 on-base percentage through 21 games.
• As a team, Longwood is tied for second in the Big South with 85 walks drawn. In addition, the team is second in the league after being hit by a pitch 42 times.
• Michael Peterson has drawn a team-best 13 walks, good for a tie for seventh in the Big South. Peterson also is tied for fourth in HBP with six.
• Cullan Wadsworth and Hayden Harris have been hit by a pitch five times, good for a tie for eighth in the conference.
• Longwood is fourth in the Big South with 162 base hits and has racked up double digit hits in seven of its 21 games this season. The team's season high came against NC Central, when they knocked out 15 hits.
• The Lancers hold a .235 batting average as a team. The team's 103 RBI are tied for third in the Big South.
• Longwood's offense tied for third in the Big South with 150 hits in 2020 while ranking fourth in hits per game with 8.8. The team was also third in RBI with 77.
• The Lancers are third in the Big South with 116 runs scored with Cullan Wadsworth, Jack Schnell and Hunter Gilliam leading the way.
• Wadsworth is tied for fifth in the league with 17 runs. Schnell has scored 16 times and is part of a six-way tie for seventh in the Big South. Gilliam is just outside the top 10 with 14 runs scored.
• Longwood is tied for second in the Big South with seven triples and fourth with 21 stolen bases.
• The Lancers have also been efficient swiping extra bags, going 21-29 on steal attempts.
• Michael Peterson leads the way on the bases for Longwood, posting a team-best five stolen bases on seven attempts. The speedster is tied for fifth in the league in stolen bases.
• Nine different players have stolen a base for Longwood.
• Meanwhile, Hunter Gilliam has cranked three triples to lead Longwood and tie for the lead in the Big South. The big first baseman hit triples in back-to-back games against Norfolk State on March 9 and March 14 (game one) in addition to his triple on opening day at The Citadel.
• Andrew Gorham is tied for third in the league with two triples. Drayven Kowalski and Cullan Wadsworth have the other two triples for the Lancers.
• As a team, Longwood is third in the Big South in strikeouts (172) and strikeouts looking (43) to continue a trend under head coach Ryan Mau. The Lancers have ranked in the top three of the Big South in strikeouts four times in the previous six seasons
• Longwood topped the Big South in strikeouts in per nine innings in 2020 while finishing second in total strikeouts
• The Lancers have consistently ranked near the top of the Big South in strikeouts. In 2019, the Lancers were fourth with 411 K's. In 2018, the Lancers were third with 468 K's. In 2017, Longwood led the Big South with 511 punchouts in 2017, breaking the school's D-I record of 440.  That season, Longwood was also third in the nation with 9.9 strikeouts per nine innings. The Lancers were fifth in the Big South in 2016 with 404 K's and third in 2015 with 440 K's.
• Eliot Dix has been a revelation in the middle of the Longwood order, posting a team-best .380 batting average through 13 games, all starts. The left-handed hitting Dix has had six multi-hit games, including a 4-4 effort on opening day.
• He sits in a tie in fourth in the Big South with 19 RBI, and he has had four multi-RBI games this season.
• Over a four-game stretch from 3/15-21, Dix hit .444 while swatting two homers, driving in four runs, scoring five runs and totaling eight hits. He was named the Big South Co-Freshman of the Week, the second time this season he has earned the weekly honor.

Scouting Gardner-Webb

• The last time Longwood and Gardner-Webb played was back in 2019, with Longwood winning two of three to take the series in the Big South opener for both sides.
• Gardner-Webb had a four-game winning streak snapped with a 9-4 loss at #14 South Carolina on Tuesday this week. Prior to that, the Runnin' Bulldogs had beaten UNC Asheville 6-3 before sweeping High Point over the weekend 6-3, 5-4, 5-3.
• The Runnin' Bulldogs lost two of three to Charleston Southern, winning the middle game of the series 6-5 while losing the other two games 5-1 and 7-4. Gardner-Webb also lost two of three to Campbell at the beginning of March, taking game one 6-2 before falling 7-3 and 14-6 in the final two games in the series.
• Offensively, Gardner-Webb has hit 14 home runs, good for second in the conference. Four players have hit multiple home runs, with Keiji Parkhurst leading the way with five homers and a team-best 14 RBI. Ben LaSpaluto and Mitch McLendon each have hit three, and Cam Pearcey has added two.
• Pearcey holds a team-best .326 batting average in 12 games, 11 starts. Meanwhile, LaSpaluto has a .276 batting average with three homers, eight runs and nine RBI. McLendon has a team-best 19 hits and is tied for the team lead with four doubles while scoring a team-best 12 times. Parkhurst is hitting .254 with his five homers while scoring 11 runs and drawing a team-leading 11 walks.
• On the mound, projected starter Mason Miller (2-1) holds a 3.03 ERA across his five starts, fanning a team-leading 35 batters in 32.2 innings. He is holding opponents to a .192 average. Kyle Ruehlman (1-0) has worked as both a starter and reliever. He has made four relief appearances and one start, with his start serving as a complete game. He has struck out four in 17.0 innings while posting a 5.82 ERA. Bobby Alcock (1-1) has also worked four relief appearances while starting twice, and he has struck out 16 in 11.0 innings of work to post a 6.55 ERA.
• Out of the bullpen, Kyle Skidmore (1-0) has made eight appearances, striking out eight in 8.0 innings against one run for a 1.13 ERA. Sebasten Boivin (1-0, 3.18 ERA) and Connor Gleeson (0-0, 1 S, 4.26 ERA) have made six relief appearances, and Langdon Wilson (0-1, 2 S, 10.13 ERA) leads the team with two saves in five relief appearances.

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