CHARLOTTE, N.C. – One big inning was the difference on Tuesday night between Longwood baseball and Charlotte.
 
A seven-run second inning powered Charlotte (4-3) past the Lancers 8-1.
 
James Nelson cranked his first home run of the season for the Lancers (1-6), and he went 2-3 at the plate. However, Logan Poteet hit a grand slam for Charlotte.
 
SCORING:
 
               R             H            E
LWU      1             5             1
CLT        8             8             1
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
 
Charlotte struck first in the second inning, taking advantage of some walks to get on the board. All but one of the seven runs in the frame came with two outs, and Poteet capped the rally with his grand slam to left field.
 
The Lancers settled down after that, though, and kept the score there.
 
Then, Nelson, who had doubled in the first inning, swatted the first home run of the season for the Lancers in the fifth. He took the first pitch he saw and cranked it over the wall in right-center to trim the lead to 7-1.
 
But the Charlotte bullpen limited the Lancers otherwise, surrendering only three hits and a walk to the other eight batters in the Lancer lineup.
 
Ed Wagner (1-0) picked up the win after coming on in relief to start the fourth inning. He struck out six in three innings while only giving up two his and one run.
 
Justin Gunter (1-1) took the loss for Longwood. He gave up two runs on two hits and three walks in 1.1 innings of work.

WHAT THEY SAID:

"Tonight we gave them way too many free bases on the mound," said Longwood Head Coach Ray Noe. Against good teams, you can't continue to give them free opportunities to hit with runners on base. The big swing in teh second inning was a microcosm of this exact thing."

"James had a great night tonight, and that's a testament to his daily work," Noe added. "He's an older guy and leader in our clubhouse who goes about his business the right way. He's really sold out to his approach and has a good understanding of who he is as a player."
 
UP NEXT:
 
Longwood returns home to host Albany for a four-game series this weekend, Friday to Sunday, February 28-March 1. First pitch on Friday is set for 3 p.m., and the two sides will play a doubleheader on Saturday before playing the series finale on Sunday.
 
#GoWood #HorsePower