The First Pitch:
• For a second straight weekend, Longwood baseball has had to adjust a weekend series, with the three-game matchup with Penn State moving to VMI due to the effects of inclement weather.
• The matchup will be the first between the two teams.
• Longwood picked up the first win of the
Ray Noe era with a 6-3 home win over VCU in a midweek contest.
• The Lancers were outhit on the day but used some small ball: nine walks, two hit batters, and a pair of stolen bases, to edge their in-state foe.
•
Myles Webb and
Jae'dan Carter lead the Lancer batting order with two doubles each.
Previous Series
• Longwood won the first of two midweek meetings with VCU 6-3 on Tuesday night at Buddy Bolding Stadium.
• The Lancers plated four runs in their final two innings at the plate to take down their Commonwealth opponent.
• VCU took a 3-2 lead into the seventh before Tre Keels tied the game at three. Keels stole second and third and then raced home on a throwing error.
• The Lancers took the lead for good in the eighth, plating three runs with more small ball that allowed the team to take a 6-3 lead.
•
Justin Gunter earned the relief win in his first collegiate appearance. He pitched the final two innings and did not surrender a hit or run.
Around The Bases:
• Longwood wraps up what should have been an eight-game homestand this weekend.
• The Lancers are a perfect 8-8 on stolen bases this season, with five different players having a stolen base.
• Tre Keels leads the team with three stolen bags, and
Mac Tufts has two more.
• Meanwhile,
Jae'dan Carter has caught four batters trying to steal on nine tries.
• The Lancers rank fourth in the Big South in total stolen bases, but they lead the league in steals per game (2.67). The team is 28th nationally in steals per game.
• Longwood also leads the Big South, and ranks 14th nationally, in double plays per game with 1.33. The Lancers have turned four double plays this season, which is tied with USC Upstate for most in the Big South.
• The Lancers have drawn 20 walks this season through three games.
• Keels has been the clubhouse leader, drawing five of them, to boast a .462 on-base percentage.
• Keels ranks 26th nationally with 1.67 walks drawn per game, a mark that ranks second in the Big South.
•
Justin Gunter,
Joe Castrichini and
Braydon Gray all made their Longwood debuts on the mound on Tuesday against VCU.
• Gray tossed four innings in the start, scattering seven hits that led to three runs, two earned, with three strikeouts and no walks.
• Gray passed the ball to Castrichini, who promptly threw three scoreless frames with one hit and one walk against two strikeouts.
• Gunter closed the game with three strikeouts in two scoreless innings.
SERIES HISTORY
All-Time Record vs. Penn State 0-0
Under Coach Noe 0-0
Current Streak
First Meeting
Last Meeting
• Longwood and Penn State have never played prior to 2025.
• The Lancers last played a Big Ten school when facing off against Purdue in 2022.
• The series against Purdue was incredibly tight.
• Purdue won the first game 6-1, but the final two games were decided in extra innings: 6-5 in 13 innings and 6-5 in 11 innings.
STATS COMPARISON
LWU PSU
2024 Record 1-2 2-1
Conference 0-0 0-0
Batting Average .138 .260
Opp. Batting Average .328 .216
Hits 12 27
Hits allowed 38 21
Runs 15 21
Opposing runs 29 14
Runs per game 5 7
Doubles 7 6
Opposing doubles 5 3
Triples 1 0
Opposing triples 0 0
Home Runs 0 6
Opposing home runs 5 3
RBI 10 19
OBP .315 .361
SLG .241 .490
SB-ATT 8-8 2-3
Opposing SB-ATT 5-9 5-8
Walks drawn 20 16
Walks Allowed 12 16
Strikeouts 37 28
Opposing Strikeouts 23 35
Earned run average 5.33 3.67
Innings pitched 27 27
Earned runs allowed 16 11
FLD% ..917 .955
Errors 10 5
#GoWood #HorsePower
