Longwood University Athletics

ROCK HILL, S.C. – Longwood baseball put up a good battle on the road, but late runs from Winthrop proved the difference in the series finale in Rock Hill, S.C. to close the regular season.
 
Both sides are headed to the Big South Tournament, which begins on Wednesday, May 20, but Winthrop (33-22, 15-9 Big South) took down the Lancers (29-25, 11-13 Big South) 11-5 to close the regular season on Saturday night.
 
SCORING:
               R             H            E
LWU      5             9             3
WU        11           13           1
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
 
Winthrop scored first with three runs in the first three innings, but the Lancer offense started to get going in the fifth and sixth.
 
Jae'dan Carter, Brogan Jones and Tre Keels all reached safely to load the bases, and Jack McMullan drew a walk to get the Lancers on the board. JT Brown added a sacrifice fly one batter late to trim the lead to 3-2.
 
After Cal Travers put up a zero in the home half of the fifth, Longwood took the lead in the sixth. Again, the Lancers loaded the bases as Bentley Yeatts, Carter and Ben Pulliam all reached safely. Jones then beat out a grounder for an RBI base hit in the infield that tied the game. He finished the day with two base hits and two walks, reaching base safely four times. Keels drove home one more on an RBI fielder's choice for a 4-3 lead.
 
However, Winthrop responded by plating four in the sixth, with Ethan Wilson's ground-rule double driving in the go-ahead runs to make it 7-4.
 
The Eagles never trailed from that point on, adding four runs in the final two innings to fend off the Lancers.
 
Harrison Wilson (4-1) got the win for Winthrop after tossing 1.2 relief frames. He gave up two runs on two hits and two walks with one strikeout.
 
Cam Freeman (1-2) took the loss for the Lancers. He gave up three runs on two hits and two walks after taking over for Cal Travers in the bottom of the sixth. Travers was sharp for the Lancers, throwing 2.2 frames of one-run ball. He struck out one against three hits and a walk.

WHAT THEY SAID:

"I thought we played better today, but unfortunately some costly mistakes and timely hitting by them was the nail in the coffin," said Longwood Head Coach Ray Noe. "We are excited to get back to Farmville, rest up and prep for the tournament here on Wednesday. I hope to see a ton of Lancer fans in the stands as we go take on Upstate in our first game at 3 p.m.!"
 
UP NEXT:
 
The Lancers finished sixth in the standings and will take on No. 3-seeded USC Upstate on Wednesday, May 20 at HomeTrust Park in Asheville, N.C.
 
#GoWood #HorsePower