FARMVILLE, Va. – Longwood baseball clinched with a 12-11 win over USC Upstate in the series finale in a tight back-and-forth game on Sunday afternoon.
Home runs from Tre Keels,
Brogan Jones,
Lucas Johnson, Jac McMullan, and
Jae'dan Carter gave Longwood the edge, marking the first time in more than a decade that the Lancers recorded five homers in a single game.
Jackson Garland and
JR Fordham came out of the bullpen to close it out for Longwood and preserve the win, with the duo combining for five strikeouts over the final six innings.
R H E
USC 11 12 1
LWU 12 14 4
HOW IT HAPPENED:
USC Upstate started quickly in the first inning with four runs, two doubles, a single, and an RBI groundout to take the 4-0 lead.
Tre Keels responded for the Lancers with a solo homer to left field to cut the Spartans' lead 4-1.
The Spartans scored two in the third with a two-run homer from Tyler Bentley, but the Lancers matched that in the same inning with a two-run home run from
Brogan Jones, and an RBI double from
Jon Howard cut the lead to 6-4.
Longwood struck again with an RBI off a fielder's choice from
Max Lawson in the fourth, and in the fifth,
Lucas Johnson swatted a two-run home run that gave the Lancers a 7-6 lead.
The Spartans tied things up in the sixth with an RBI single from Henry Zenor, but the Lancers responded quickly with five runs, including an RBI double from Jones and a three-run home run from
Jae'dan Carter.
USC put up four runs over the next three innings, but solid relief work from
JR Fordham closed out the game.
Jackson Garland (3-1) earned the win after tossing 4.1 innings of relief. He retired eight straight upon entering the game and gave up only three runs on four hits and a walk while striking out three.
Max Kaplan (2-2) took the loss after pitching 2.2 and giving up seven runs and two walks.
UP NEXT:
The Lancers are away on Tuesday, marking the beginning of a long road stretch, starting with George Mason on March 24. The game is scheduled to start at 3 p.m.
