Friday • 4 p.m.
LWU: Sr. RHP
Devin Gould (0-2, 6.19 ERA)
CSU: R-So. LHP Cody Maw (1-0, 3.86 ERA)
Saturday • 2 p.m.
LWU: Sr. RHP
Cody Wager (2-2, 6.63 ERA)
CSU: Fr. RHP Nik Constantakos (1-0, 2.74 ERA)
Sunday • 2 p.m.
LWU: Jr. RHP
Zach Potojecki (1-1, 3.18 ERA)
CSU: Fr. RHP Kyle Dyson (0-0, 3.65 ERA)
Leading Off
• Longwood plays a three-game series against Charleston Southern to open Big South play. Game one Friday was moved up to 4 p.m. and game two Saturday to 2 p.m. due to the threat of evening showers. Friday's game one can be heard on WVHL Kickin' Country 92.9 FM Farmville beginning with a 3:30 p.m. pregame.
• Longwood enters the weekend after falling in the series at defending CAA champion, UNC Wilmington.
• The weekend series at UNC Wilmington ended Longwood's eight-game, 11-day, three-state Spring Break road trip, on which the Lancers went 4-4.
• Longwood features a quartet of hitters who boast a batting average of .290 or better, led by
Michael Osinski, who is hitting .348.
Last Time Out
• Longwood got great starting pitching at UNCW with all three starters,
Devin Gould,
Cody Wager, and
Tyler Wirsu, pitching at least 5.0 innings and allowing four runs or less with at least five strikeouts.
• Wager and Wirsu went back-to-back with quality starts in the doubleheader Saturday afternoon. Longwood is 2-2 when starters post a quality start.
• The Lancers struck out 30 batters at UNCW. They lead the league in strikeouts.
By The Numbers
• Junior right-handed pitcher Zach Potojecki made his first career Friday start at Savannah State on 3/4 and responded with 6.2 innings of shutout ball and finished one shy of the school record with 13 strikeouts.
• Senior right-hander Cody Wager spun a career-high 7.1 innings of two-run ball and struck out career-high 10 batters at UNC Wilmington 3/11.
• Longwood leads the Big South with 161 strikeouts after racking up 30 at UNCW.
• Potojecki leads the Big South with 26 strikeouts while Wager is second with 25.
• Junior outfielder Sammy Miller has been great in the lead-off role, reaching base at a rate of .435 (10-for-23) when beginning an inning. Miller is fifth in the conference with seven stolen bases.
• Junior shortstop Michael Osinski leads the team in nearly every offensive category through 17 games, leading the conference with 20 RBI, third with 24 hits, fourth with 14 runs scored, and fifth with 35 total bases
• Longwood is second in the Big South in hits (155), runs scored (95), RBI (88), and is fourth in total bases (221).
• As a team the Lancers have hit .276 (48-for-174) with runners in scoring position and four Lancers are hitting better than .300 with RISP in at least 10 at-bats.
• Justin Mitchell is hitting .474 (9-for-19) with RISP, while Michael Osinski is hitting .400 (10-for-25), Joey Mendez is hitting .400 (4-for-10), and Ryan Shull is hitting .300 (3-for-10).
• Longwood leads the Big South in triples with nine triples as a team in 2017. Longwood finished 2016 with five triples.
• Longwood is second in the Big South in steal attempts (31) and second in stolen bases (24).
• Longwood will play select home and road games on the Big South Network in 2017. Five regular season games and the entire conference tournament will be on radio on WVHL 92.9 FM Farmville, with second-year play-by-play man Darius Thigpen calling the action.
Scouting Charleston Southern
• Longwood and Charleston Southern meet for the fourth straight straight year. Longwood swept CSU in 2016.
• Longwood outscored CSU 23-7 in the three games, finishing the series on Monday after rain pushed the start of the weekend series to Saturday.
• CSU is second in the Big South in hitting with a .273 average.
• CSU played a non-conference game Wednesday against Winthrop, winning 4-2.
• The Buccaneers are led in hitting by senior first baseman Brandon Gragilla, who leads the conference with a .432 average, is second in the Big South with a .519 on-base percentage, and is third with a .659 slugging percentage. Gragilla leads the t• eam with seven extra-base hits.
• Senior infielder Nate Blanchard is second on the team with a .328 average.
• Junior outfielder Chris Singleton and sophomore infielder Jason Miller are also hitting better than .300 for the season.
• Right-hander Cody Smith has made a team-high eight appearances out of the bullpen, posting a 0.00 ERA in 8.2 innings, leading the league with five saves.
• Freshman right-hander Nik Constantakos has dazzled with a 2.74 ERA across a team-high 23.0 innings in four starts with 21 strikeouts against four walks.
• Sophomore lefty Cody Maw has struck out 20 batters in 21.0 innings and posted a 3.86 ERA in four appearances, two starts.
#GoWood
