FARMVILLE, Va. – Big innings powered Longwood baseball to the series sweep against Siena on Sunday afternoon at Buddy Bolding Stadium.
The Lancer (3-0) offense scored six runs in an inning two times en route to a 14-1 win over the Saints (0-3).
Brenton Fisher also struck out six in his first start of the season.
Top Performers:
Brenton Fisher: 3.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 K
Noah Campanelli: 2-4, 2 R
Willie Havens: 1-3, R, 2 RBI, 2B
James Nelson: 1-3, 3 RBI, 2B
HOW IT HAPPENED:
While Fisher cruised through three innings of work on the mound, the Lancer offense staked him to a 6-0 lead in the second inning.
Once again, Longwood was patient. The Lancers drew back-to-back walks with the bases loaded to go up 2-0, and
Willie Havens swatted a double to left field a few batters later for a 5-0 lead. He finished the weekend with nine RBI in three games.
Jared Glinski tacked on an RBI single for a 6-0 lead two batters later.
Fisher, meanwhile, retired six of the first seven batters he faced and struck out six in three innings of work.
Drew Camp added an RBI double in the fourth, one of his two doubles on the day. Five of his six hits this season have been doubles.
A six-spot in the eighth inning effectively sealed the game, with
James Nelson's three-run double providing an exclamation point for a 14-1 lead.
Fisher (1-0) earned the win on the mound, and
Dylan Saale struck out four in three solid relief innings.
Kyle Miller, a freshman, made his collegiate debut with two scoreless relief innings. He came on due to an injury and didn't miss a beat, keeping Siena off the board in his two innings of work.
Billy Rozakis (0-1) took the loss for Siena. He gave up six runs, two earned, on four hits and three walks while striking out three.
WHAT THEY SAID:
"I thought it was a good weekend," said Longwood Head Coach
Chad Oxendine. "Obviously, to be able to win three on opening weekend is big. Offensively, I thought we executed really well. We took advantage of some free bases. On the mound, we pitched a lot better today.
Brenton Fisher looked really good, much improved."
"I do think there's some small things—we made some baserunning mistakes, we got behind some hitters—that we have to clean those things up," Oxendine added. "We've got VCU coming up and then Iona, so its not going to get any easier. The year is going to continue to challenge us. The one thing that I can say is the energy was high, and the team was tight. It's as tight as we've had it in three years. The energy is different, and I think it showed this weekend."
"Fisher was throwing strikes," Oxendine said about how Fisher was effective in the start. "That was a big thing for Fish last year, just getting ahead in the count. His slider was really good today, and he challenged hitters. I think the big thing for him is not to go out there and just try to blow it by people but actually pitch. He looked a lot better today, and I think executing Coach [Brad] Mincey's game plan and pitching versus throwing."
NOTABLES:
Longwood posted 53 runs through its first three games.
Willie Havens had his third straight multi-RBI game.
Drew Camp has hit multiple doubles in a game in back-to-back games. He has had at least one double in all three games this season.
Longwood had five extra-base hits as a team, all doubles.
The pitching staff combined to strike out 13 batters against seven walks.
UP NEXT:
Longwood hits the road and heads to VCU on Tuesday. First pitch is set for 3 p.m.
#GoWood #HorsePower
