CLINTON, S.C. – A pair of strong outings by Presbyterian starters Tanner Chock and David Sauer led the Blue Hose to a sweep of Longwood in a doubleheader, 7-1 in game one and 9-5 in game two, and clinch the three-game series Saturday at the PC Baseball Complex.
 
Both starters for Presbyterian (23-21, 9-9 Big South) frustrated Longwood hitters as the duo of Chock and Sauer each pitched 8.0 innings of one-run ball in the losses for Longwood (25-20, 9-9 Big South).
 
"Our starting pitchers didn't settle in and we struggled defensively, which made for a very long day," Longwood head coach Ryan Mau said after the doubleheader. "We weren't able to stop the bleeding as we allowed three big innings on the day. We've got to find a way to minimize damage."
 
Chock (2-2) spread seven hits across 8.0 innings with one run allowed and struck out six batters with four walks in game one for Presbyterian. Steven Farkas (2-2) took the game one loss after allowing four runs on eight hits in 3.2 innings with three strikeouts to one walk.
 
Sauer (4-2) clinched the series win for the Blue Hose with 8.0 innings of one-run ball on five hits with four strikeouts and four walks. Luke Simpson (0-3) took the loss for Longwood in game two of the doubleheader after allowing four runs, two earned, in 2.2 innings of work on four hits with a strikeout and two walks. Simpson had quality starts in each of his two previous starts entering Saturday.
 
Three-hit days by Michael Osinski and Janos Briscoe weren't enough for the Lancers in the losses. Osinski was 3-for-3 with an RBI in the first game, while Briscoe was 2-for-3 at the plate with an RBI and run scored in game two after a 1-for-3 game one. The three-hit game was the first of the season for Osinski, while the two-hit game for Briscoe was the first multi-hit game for the junior college transfer.
 
Jacob Midkiff was dominant at the plate in the two games for Presbyterian. Midkiff, a senior third baseman, was 4-for-7 with three extra-base hits and two RBI in the games. Midkiff was 2-for-4 with a pair of doubles and a run scored in the first game and went 2-for-3 with a pair of RBI on a triple in game two.
 
In game one Presbyterian put together a 13-hit performance led by six players with multi-hit games. Midkiff, Tyler Weyenberg, A.J. Priaulx, Glen Casaceli, Patrick Burt, and Cletis Avery each had two hits in the first game. Avery paced Presbyterian with three RBI in game one while Burt reached a game-high four times in a 2-for-2 day at the plate with a pair of walks.
 
A three-run fourth inning was the difference in the first game. Casaceli started a two-out rally with an infield single on a 1-2 pitch, followed by a Burt single to left. Avery tripled to right-center to bring in a pair of runs and put Presbyterian ahead 3-0. A wild pitch by Farkas brought in Avery and made it a 4-0 Blue Hose lead.
 
In game two Midkiff was one of three Presbyterian batters with multi-RBI games, matched at two RBI by Brett Auckland and Weston Jackson.
 
Presbyterian scored in bunches in the second game, plating four in the home half of the second inning and scoring five runs in the bottom of the seventh inning. It was a scoreless game entering the bottom of the second inning. Peter Johnson hit a one-out single and later in the inning scored on Casaceli's RBI double. The next batter after Casaceli was Mick Tinny, who singled and drove in a run. After a two-out error kept the inning alive, Auckland singled and brought in a pair of runs, making it 4-0 Presbyterian.
 
The Blue Hose scored five more runs in the seventh inning, scoring all five with two outs. Nine men stepped to the plate in Presbyterian's five-run rally in the seventh. Presbyterian had three multi-run innings in the two games, which were the difference in the losses for Longwood.
 
Connar Bastaich was 1-for-4 in each game, extending his hitting streak to a season-high 13 games. The longest hitting streak on the season for a Lancer batter remains at 15 games, a streak put together by Alex Lewis from mid-March through early April. Bastaich leads the team with a .337 batting average, 18 multi-hit games, and has reached safely in 24 straight games, the longest streak of the season for a Lancer.
 
The losses for Longwood drops the Lancers to .500 in conference play with two conference series remaining, home against UNC Asheville that begins Friday and a three-game set at Winthrop the following weekend. The Lancers, with nine wins in Big South play, sit three wins shy of the school record for Big South wins set by the 2013 team which went 12-12 in conference play.
 
"We'll look to recharge physically and prepare for a strong academic finish with finals this week," Mau said. "Then we will look toward UNC Asheville this upcoming weekend as we are in need of a strong showing these last few weeks of conference play."
 
Longwood returns to action in Farmville, Va., for a three-game set against UNC Asheville starting Friday, the final home series for the Lancers. Longwood will honor its five seniors, Bastaich, C.J. Roth, Colton Konvicka, Allen Ellis, and Travis Burnette, before Sunday's game. First pitch Friday is set for 6 p.m. at Buddy Bolding Stadium.
 
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