RICHMOND, Va. – Longwood baseball wrapped up an eight-game road swing in style. The Lancers (9-18) pummeled Richmond 12-2 by hitting a season-high four home runs, and Ethan Walker posted 5.1 strong innings in his first collegiate start on the mound. The Lancers swept the season series with the Spiders for the first time in program history.
 
SCORE:
 
               R             H            E
LWU      12           13           0
UR          2             6             2
 
Top Longwood Performers:
Luis DeLeon: 3-5, 2R, 3 RBI, 2 HR | Gregory Ryan, Jr.: 2-5, R, 5 RBI, HR | Eliot Dix: 2-5, 2R, 2 RBI, HR
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
 
Eliot Dix hit a home run in the first inning, and Longwood never trailed as the offense mashed out 14 hits, which was one shy of a season high. Dix's homer, his second in as many games, gave Longwood a 2-0 lead.
 
The offense added to it in the third after Gregory Ryan, Jr. powered his eighth homer of the season over the left-centerfield wall. The three-run blast pushed the lead to 5-0, and Drew Camp added an RBI double a few batters later for a 6-0 lead.
 
Richmond (11-14) cut it to 6-2, but Ethan Walker (1-0) made sure it stayed there. The freshman was solid in his first collegiate start. He struck out three in 5.1 innings of work and limited Richmond to four hits while walking three to earn his first collegiate win.
 
Meanwhile, the Lancer offense kept the good times going. Ethan Barnes and Ryan combined to drive in three runs in the sixth. Luis DeLeon clobbered two homers in his last two at bats to put the game completely out of reach.
 
Dominick D'Ercole and Dallas Hairfield combined for 3.2 scoreless innings to make sure the score stayed that way.
 
Jake Michel (1-3) took the loss for Richmond. He gave up six runs in two innings on six base hits and a walk while striking out two.
 
WHAT THEY SAID:
 
"It was big to give us some confidence in the middle of the week," said Longwood Head Coach Chad Oxendine. "We've got another big game tomorrow and a big weekend ahead of us, so hopefully we can keep this thing rolling."
 
"Ethan Walker, he went 5.1 and pitched really, really well today after not doing so well this weekend," Oxendine said about his freshman's impressive outing. "He's a talented freshman that we look to get a lot out of. It was really good to see Ethan throw the ball really well."
 
"Offensively we stuck to our approach, and we banged out 13 hits," Oxendine added about the team's offensive eruption. "That's something that Coach Walter and our staff have been talking to our guys about is being stubborn and bullheaded with their approach and not venturing away from it. We did that today."
 
"When guys get their pitch, are more selective, are on time with their swing and put good swings on it, the ball will go," Oxendine said about how his team hit a season-high four homers. "The issue we've had is that we're swinging at pitches that aren't ours, we're not on time, and we're getting too big at times and that leads to weak fly balls. Today we were on time a little better, we got pitches we could drive, and we put good swings on the ball."
 
"We need Dom," Oxendine said about Dominick D'Ercole. "We haven't thrown him a lot this year. It's been one inning spurts. He's a guy that is a middle reliever for us that we want to try to extend at the end of the season. We feel like he can give us two to four innings every outing like what he did today. We wanted to get him rolling a little bit. His sinker was working."
 
"Dallas is a guy that we know will compete for us," Oxendine added. "He just has to learn to throw strikes, and he did that today and threw the ball really well."
 
"Tomorrow, we're facing a George Mason team that is playing really well," Oxendine said about carrying his momentum forward. "I'm hoping the guys continue to swing the bats. That's important. We've got Cole Taylor going, and he's going to throw strikes. He's going to mix pitches and give us a shot to win. He's been throwing really well in the middle of the week this year, and offensively we have to continue to execute."
 
ADDITIONAL NOTES:
 
Longwood swept the Spiders for the first time in program history.
 
The win was also Longwood's first at Richmond in program history.
 
The 13 base hits were two shy of a season high.
 
The 12 runs tied a season high.
 
Ryan tied a career high with 5 RBI.
 
DeLeon had his first two-homer game for Longwood.
 
Ryan now leads the Lancers with eight homers on the season.
 
Ethan Walker set career highs in innings pitched and strikeouts.
 
Dallas Hairfield also tossed a career best 2.0 innings and didn't allow a run.
 
UP NEXT:
 
Longwood hosts George Mason on Wednesday night. First pitch is set for 6 p.m.
 
#GoWood #HorsePower