FARMVILLE, Va. – A big second inning drove Longwood past Delaware State on a rainy Saturday afternoon. The Lancers (2-5) scored six in the second inning to pull away in a 12-5 win.
 
SCORE:
 
                 R        H       E
DSU          5        12      0
LWU       12       12       0
 
TOP PERFORMERS:
 
Luis DeLeon: 4-4, 3 R, 1 RBI, HR, SB
Eliot Dix: 2-4, R, 2 RBI, HBP
Ryan Miller: 5 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 3 ER 5 K
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
 
After waiting more than two hours to start due to rainy conditions, Longwood got hot in the second inning. Michael Dolberry opened the scoring with an RBI groundout, and the Lancers never looked back.
 
With two outs and bases loaded, Eliot Dix singled in two runs to bring the score to 3-0. Gregory Ryan broke the game wide open one batter later by clobbering a three-run home run.
 
Delaware State (0-5) answered with three runs in the third, but Ryan Miller (1-0) limited the damage. He went five full innings to earn the win, striking out five with no walks and seven hits allowed.
 
Luis DeLeon was active all game and piled up four of Longwood's 12 hits, and he reached base safely in all five plate appearances. He cranked a solo home run in the fifth that extended the Lancer lead to 7-3 and went 4-4 at the plate on the day in his best performance as a Lancer. Corbin McCloud added an RBI double a few batters later for a five-run lead.
 
From that point on, Longwood limited Delaware State's opportunities, and the defense turned three double plays to help out the pitching staff.
 
James Nelson cranked a solo home run in the eighth to start a rally that put the game to rest.
 
WHAT THEY SAID:
 
"The guys played well today with a ton of passion and energy", said Head Coach Chad Oxendine.
 
"Luis is an experience player with a ton of talent", said Oxendine about Luis DeLeon's big day. "After sitting out last year due to an injury – it's great to see him out there running around."
 
"The offense has been working to get in good counts," Oxendine added about a second-straight game with three home runs. "So far, we have been putting great swings on the baseball in advantage counts which has led to some big home runs! We have to continue to work the count the way we have been."
 
ADDITIONAL NOTES:
 
Ethan Walker struck out one during the eighth in a scoreless relief appearance.
 
Guillermo Garcia struck out two during the 9^th inning to close out the game.
 
Nelson and Ryan both lead Longwood with three home runs apiece.
 
DeLeon became the sixth Lancer to hit a home run this year.
 
The Lancers have 10 home runs in seven games.
 
The Lancer pitching staff struck out 10 batters. It is the fourth time in seven games the team has struck out at least 10.
 
UP NEXT:
 
The last game of this series is set to start Sunday with first pitch scheduled at 1 p.m. at Buddy Bolding Stadium.
 
#GoWood