FARMVILLE, Va. – Longwood baseball scored in six straight innings to push past George Mason on Tuesday afternoon at Buddy Bolding Stadium.
Four Lancers had multi-hit days, with
Jon Howard and
Brogan Jones leading the way. Howard hit two home runs, and Jones was 2-3 with a home run as well, as Longwood (13-4) won 11-1 in eight innings.
The pitching trio of
Drew Siegner,
Wyatt Bunch Braydon Gray limited George Mason (6-8) to one run on six hits in eight innings of work.
R H E
GMU 1 6 2
LWU 11 10 0
HOW IT HAPPENED:
George Mason struck first with an RBI single from Lucas Alberti to start the scoring.
But Jones tied things up in the third for Longwood with a solo home run.
It was all Longwood after that.
The Lancers started to break the game open in the fourth by loading the bases with no outs.
Mac Tufts and Jones drew bases-loaded walks sandwiched around a
Jae'dan Carter single for a 4-1 lead.
Longwood scored again in the fifth with an RBI single from
Ben Pulliam, and Howard swatted a solo homer in the sixth for a 6-1 lead.
It didn't stop there.
Longwood extended the lead in the seventh after a sac fly RBI from
Mac Tufts, a run in from
Carson McCoy on an error, and a two-run homer from Howard, his second of the game.
The Lancers closed out scoring and ended the game when McCoy scored on a wild pitch in the bottom of the eighth.
Bunch (2-0) earned the win for the Lancers after pitching four shutout innings, walking only one. He struck out one and gave up three hits. Siegner also was sharp in the start, giving up only one run on three hits and two walks in three innings, and Gray added one perfect relief inning in the eighth inning.
Shaun Okeeffee (0-1) got the loss after he didn't record an out while giving up two hit by pitches, a walk, and a run from a wild pitch.
WHAT THEY SAID:
"It was great to be back home! We got back late on Sunday, and we're on spring break, which is always good, and I was really pleased with the work that we got in yesterday", said Head Coach
Ray Noe. "Anytime you play George Mason, who was a team that was in the finals in the A10 last year, and play like we did today and take care of business, that was very satisfying".
"The things that we preach every day, controlling the strike zone and finding a way on base, and our guys really valued first base today", said Noe on his offense in today's game. "We got the run game going, which is what we wanted to do. Alabama State really shut us down this past weekend, so that was a point of emphasis going into this week. And obviously, we have great players too, which is a big piece of it. When they have the right approach and stay in the strike zone, and they put a good swing on a ball, you saw today, they tend to do some damage, especially
Jon Howard, who had a heck of a day".
"Eric [Miles] and Brandon [Hill] have done an unbelievable job with them, just flipping the mindset to being the aggressor, challenging the zone, and things of that nature", said Noe, about his pitching staff. "I was happy to get them back out there, and Drew [Siegner] gave us a great start, Wyatt [Bunch] was unbelievable today in relief and then turning the ball over to Braydon [Gray]. We always feel good about them."
"We're excited", said Noe on their upcoming conference game against Gardner-Webb. "They had a really good Friday night win against Oklahoma State, and we're excited to have the challenge of being on the road. Alabama State was a good test for us as our first true road series. In my opinion, it's a new season now".
UP NEXT:
Longwood will go on the road to Boiling Springs, N.C., for their first conference matchup against Gardner-Webb on Mar 13, with the first pitch slated for 6 p.m.
#GoWood | #HorsePower
