FARMVILLE, Va. – Three swings of the bat turned the tide as High Point sent a trio of home runs sailing over the left field wall to turn a 2-1 deficit into a 7-4 victory Friday night at Charles Buddy Bolding Stadium.

It all looked innocent enough, as Longwood starter Aaron Myers (3-4) settled in after a run in the top of the first. The right-handed ace was cruising through the middle innings before Josh Greene sent a lined two-run shot over the left center field wall to flip the game on its head.

Greene's sixth-inning bomb was the first of three longballs the Panthers would hit off of Myers, a feat never before accomplished off the Longwood ace. In fact, Myers had given up eight home runs his entire career entering the evening. Josh Spano would launch another two-run shot to left in the top of the seventh to extend a 5-2 lead before Spencer Angelis capped off the three home run night with a solo shot in the eighth. The three homers also marked the first time High Point has hit a trio of dingers in the dead bat era.

Longwood (10-14, 2-5) threw together a rally in the bottom of the seventh, pulling within a run of the Panthers. The Lancers used a pair of hits from Travis Biddix and Brandon Delk to score the first run before a wild pitch on a strikeout brought Delk home with two outs.

That was as close as the Lancers could come, however, as High Point answered with two runs in the eighth to pull away for the 7-4 victory.

"I thought our energy and effort were there tonight," said head coach Ryan Mau. "I thought we played hard and we're going to bounce back and get right back out there tomorrow."

High Point opened a 1-0 advantage in the top of the first thanks to a leadoff walk drawn by Hunter Lee. The Panther third baseman subsequently advanced on a single and sacrifice bunt to reach third with just one out. An RBI groundout off the bat of Angelis plated Lee for the game's first run.

Longwood would level the game an inning later as the Lancers scored on a pair of hits and a walk. Connar Bastaich walked to lead the inning off ahead of an infield single off the bat of Michael Osinski, who finished the evening 2-for-4.  A batter later, Brandon Harvell, 3-for-4, ripped a single to center, loading the bases with just one away. With Sammy Miller attempting to lay down a safety squeeze at the plate, High Point starter John McGillicuddy uncorked a wild pitch, allowing Bastaich to score from third. That was all the Lancers could muster though as Osinski was cut down trying to score a grounder to third.

From that point, things settled into a pitchers' duel as both Myers and McGillicuddy settled into a groove until the Lancers struck again in the fifth.  

Colton Konvicka, 2-for-5 with a run scored, roped a leadoff triple down the right field line for his second extra-base hit of the game. Senior co-captain Travis Biddix brought Konvicka home four pitches later on a double down the left field line, giving Longwood its first lead of the night. Yet, Longwood missed another chance for a big inning as Biddix was erased trying to advance to third on a ground ball.

Longwood raked 11 hits on the evening but scored just four runs as the Lancers left seven men in scoring position while another pair were thrown out on the basepaths while in scoring position.

"We did a better job at the plate," said Mau. "We were better with our approach and had chances, now we just have to cash those in."

Meanwhile, High Point solved Aaron Myers in the latter innings for six runs in the sixth, seventh and eighth frames. Myers appeared his usual dominant self in the early going, especially after settling in following the first inning run. The ace fanned four straight, including striking out the side in the second, to open a stretch of four scoreless innings.

Unfortunately, the Panthers finally caught on with a pair of two-out, two-run home runs in the sith and seventh, followed by a solo shot in the eighth. The solo blast ended Myers' night, with a final line of seven innings pitched allowing six runs, all earned while punching out six. The six runs were the most allowed by Myers in his Longwood career.

The eighth inning home run also answered a two-run rally by Longwood in the bottom of the seventh to cut the lead to one. The Lancers got to reliever Andre Scrubb with two outs as Biddix tagged a ball high off the left field wall for his second double of the game. Delk followed with a single to chase Biddix home before eventually scoring when Connar Bastaich reached on a strikeout and wild pitch.

But, the home run swung the momentum back into the High Point dugout and the Panthers got both runs back after scoring one off Longwood reliever Zach Potojecki. A pair of errors by the Lancers extended the inning and the Panthers capitalized on an RBI groundout to salt the game away at 7-4.

Longwood and High Point will continue the series Saturday afternoon with a 4 p.m. first pitch at Buddy Bolding Stadium.

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