The First Pitch:
• Longwood heads to Spartanburg, South Carolina for a three-game series against USC Upstate.
• The series was shifted to have a doubleheader on Thursday, April 6 followed by the series finale on Friday, April 7.
• USC Upstate has won the past nine meetings between the two teams, dating back to 2019.
• The Longwood bats have been scorching over the past seven games. During that stretch, the Lancers have scored at least six runs in each game and are 6-1 during that time frame.
• Longwood has averaged 12.3 hits per game over the past seven games, and the team has scored at least 10 runs five times.
• Longwood has also racked up 35 extra-base hits in those seven games. The team has homered in six of the seven games.
• The Lancer pitching staff has been solid as well, posting a 3.29 ERA in 63 innings.
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Luis DeLeon was named the Big South Player of the Week on Monday, April 3, after leading the Lancers with 10 hits from March 28-April 2. He batted .500 in a five-game stretch.
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Dominick D'Ercole was named the Big South Relief Pitcher of the Week with a pair of saves in his three appearances.
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Ethan Walker was named the Big South Freshman of the Week for winning his first collegiate start.
Last Series Notes:
• Longwood's offense scored in six of its nine innings to take down Norfolk State 14-3 on Tuesday, April 4 in the team's lone midweek matchup.
• The Lancer bats ripped off 13 base hits and added 12 walks to score 14 runs.
• It was the third straight game that Longwood has scored at least 10 runs and had 10 hits.
• More than half of Longwood's hits were for extra bases, with seven of the team's 13 base knocks going for extra bases.
• The Lancers had their ninth multi-homer game of the season as the team hit three solo home runs.
• Longwood jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning, but Norfolk State claimed a 3-2 lead after two innings.
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Hayden Harris evened the score in the third inning with a solo home run, and the Lancer offense broke the game open with a six-run fifth inning.
• In that inning, the Lancers loaded the bases before the bottom three batters in the order drove in runs:
Drew Camp with an RBI walk,
Ethan Barnes with a two-run single and
Corbin McCloud with a two-run double.
• Camp and Barnes had RBI base knocks in the sixth, and the Lancers extended the lead to nine runs.
• Barnes had a four-hit day, a career best.
Around The Bases:
• Longwood was picked to finish sixth in the Big South Preseason Poll after finishing eighth in the final standings in 2022.
• Longwood's offense has been potent in its past seven games. The Lancers are batting .333 as a team, and they have had at least 10 hits five times in those seven games.
• During the seven-game run, the Lancers have also outscored their opposition 79-34.
• Five players are hitting .400 or better during the seven games:
Ethan Barnes (.7-13, .538),
James Nelson (9-17, .529),
Luis DeLeon (13-27, .481),
Hayden Harris (10-21, .476) and
Dylan Wilkinson (6-15, .400).
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Drew Camp and
Gregory Ryan, Jr. lead the way in RBI during the seven-game stretch. Ryan has totaled 13 RBI, and Camp has added 11 more. Camp has an RBI in each of the past seven games, and Ryan has at least one in five of seven.
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Luis DeLeon and
Hayden Harris have touched home plate a ton over the past seven games. Harris leads the team with 13 runs scored, and DeLeon is right behind him at 10 runs scored.
• Seven players have hit a home run in the past seven games, and the Lancers have hit 13 as a team.
• The team also has 18 doubles and five triples in that stretch for a total of 36 extra-base hits.
• The 36 extra-base hits represent 41 percent of the team's base hits (86) over the past seven games.
• Longwood has won four straight games, which matches the team's longest winning streak of the season.
• On the season, the Lancer offense is second in the Big South in doubles with 61 and is three back of first-place Campbell.
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Eliot Dix leads Longwood with 11 doubles, which is tied for second in the Big South, and Harris is tied for fourth with nine doubles.
• Dix leads the conference in hits with 45 which ranks 32nd in the nation. He sports a .369 batting average, which is sixth in the Big South.
• Longwood has hit 32 home runs as a team, which is good for fourth in the Big South.
• The team hit a season-best four home runs on Tuesday, March 28 at Richmond. Longwood has had nine multi-homer games this year, and the team hit a home run in five straight games from March 25-31.
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Gregory Ryan, Jr. leads Longwood with nine home runs, which is tied for fourth in the Big South.
• A trio of Lancers have four home runs apiece in Dix, Harris and
James Nelson.
• Longwood is third in the Big South with 47 stolen bases, and the Lancers are 47-57 when attempting to steal.
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Ethan Barnes leads the team with seven stolen bases, and he is 9-9 on the season.
• Longwood is second in the Big South with 10 triples.
Quincy Sippio, Ryan and DeLeon have all hit two for Longwood.
• On the mound, Longwood has a pair of pitchers inside the top 10 in ERA in the Big South.
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Andrew Potojecki is second in the Big South with a 2.70 ERA.
Logan Berrier is ninth with a 3.97 ERA.
• The Lancer bullpen has been tremendous over the past seven games. The relief corps has given up a total of four runs in 34.2 innings.
• Teams are hitting .229 against the Lancer relievers in that stretch.
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Dominick D'Ercole has two saves in that seven-game stretch. The righthander saved the opener and the finale against High Point, and he didn't allow a run in a team-best 6.1 innings of work.
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Aidan Vanvickle and
Dallas Hairfield have also pitched four innings over two appearances. Hairfield has six strikeouts, and VanVickle earned a win and gave up one unearned run total across his two appearances.
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Andrew Melnyk has served as a strikeout artist out of the bullpen. The lefty is averaging nearly two strikeouts per inning with 22 K's in 12.1 innings, and he and sports a 2.92 ERA.
• During the team's weekend series against High Point, the bullpen gave up a total of three runs in three games.
#GoWood #HorsePower
