Longwood University Athletics

HIGH POINT, N.C. – The late innings were all Longwood on Sunday afternoon as the clutch Lancers (28-20, 10-8 Big South) topped High Point 7-2 to take the rubber match and win their second straight series on the road.
 
Brogan Jones and Jack McMullan led the offense with three hits apiece, and Mac Tufts and Bentley Yeatts had two RBI each as Longwood outhit High Point (30-17, 12-6 Big South) 11-9.
 
SCORING:
               R             H            E
LWU      7             11           0
HPU       2             9             1
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
 
While High Point struck first in the fourth inning, the Longwood bullpen did an excellent job of limiting the potent Panther offense for the second time in three games.
 
Cal Travers, who got the start, tossed 1.2 scoreless frames and worked out of trouble in the first. Wyatt Bunch then gave the team some distance with 3.2 solid innings that saw him give up one run on three he. He struck out one.
 
A squeeze play put HPU up 1-0 in the fourth inning, but Longwood took the lead in the sixth by getting some traffic on base against High Point starter Aidan Paul. McMullan beat out an infield single to short, and Yeatts added a single before a sacrifice put both in scoring position. Jon Howard tied the game with an RBI fielder's choice before Jones roped a triple to left center for a 2-1 lead.
 
Justin Ruiz tied the game for HPU in the bottom of the sixth, but Jackson Nash came on in relief and limited the damage to one run by striking out leadoff man Willie Ponce.
 
Nash was excellent for the Lancers. He proceeded to strike out four in 2.1 scoreless innings while only giving up three hits to hand it over to JR Fordham for the three-up, three-down ninth. Nash (3-2) earned the win.
 
Meanwhile, the offense got busy. In the seventh, Tufts started a two-out rally by drawing a walk. McMullan singled, and Yeatts cranked a triple down the line to break the tie and give Longwood a 4-2 lead.
 
In the eighth, the Lancers kept rolling. Jones and Lucas Johnson singled before Tre Keels singled in a run. A double steal put runners at second and third, and Tufts punched a ground-rule double to dead center to drive in two more runs for a 7-2 lead.
 
Paul (5-2) took the loss for High Point after giving up four runs, all earned, on five hits and a walk in 6.2 innings of work.

WHAT THEY SAID:

"Really proud of the group and their bounce back after yesterday's game," said Longwood Head Coach Ray Noe. "We found a way to piece it together on the mound, and I thought we battled through some high traffic opportunities for them. The innings from Bunch and Nash settled us into the game and allowed the offense to get going there late."

"We missed some opportunities in the game early situationally to put us in better hitting positions, but, yet again, proud of the group for showing resiliency and making big swings when they had to," Noe added. "Yeatts and Tufts really sparked us there late to create some distance and extend the lead, which was huge."

"We are looking forward to a new week with new challenges as we take on Charleston Southern at home next weekend," Noe said.
 
ADDITIONAL NOTES:
 

• Longwood became the first team this season to top High Point in a series at Williard Stadium.
• The Lancers were only the second team to beat HPU in a series at all.
• Longwood pitchers combined to strike out eight, with Nash having half of those strikeouts in his 2.1 innings.
• Fordham struck out two of the three batters he faced in the ninth.
• The bottom three players in the Longwood order (Tufts, McMullan, Yeatts) combined to go 6-11 at the plate with three runs scored and four RBI.

 
UP NEXT:
 
Longwood's midweek games are complete on the season, and the Lancers only have Big South contests remaining. Next weekend, the team hosts Charleston Southern for a three-game series that runs Friday-Sunday, May 8-10 at Buddy Bolding Stadium. All three games are slated to air on ESPN+.
 
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