Friday • 4 p.m.
LWU: Jr. LHP
Steven Farkas (0-1, 5.40 ERA)
NU: R-Sr. LHP Cody Eckerson (2017 Stats) (6-2, 2.29 ERA)
Saturday • 2 p.m.
LWU: Sr. LHP
Michael Catlin (0-1, 6.23 ERA)
NU: TBA
Sunday • 12 p.m.
LWU: Jr. RHP
Cody Boydstun (0-1, 40.50 ERA)
NU: TBA
Leading Off
•Longwood opens the home slate with Niagara, a team Longwood last faced in a four-game series in Farmville in 2012.
•Niagara went 24-24 in 2017 with an impressive ranked win against then-12th ranked Virginia.
•This weekend's opening series marks the beginning of the 24th season for Longwood baseball at Buddy Bolding Stadium, renamed for the school's legendary coach in 2009.
Last Time Out
•Longwood opened the season on the road at Auburn. Against the SEC squad the Lancers battled in the series, though the Tigers took all three games.
•Longwood was led in hitting by
Nate Blakeney, who was 3-for-10 over the weekend and picked up Longwood's lone RBI. Also being hit by pitch twice, Blakeney reached safely five times.
•11 Lancers made their team debuts at Auburn, four of whom are new starters.
By The Numbers
•Zach Potojecki struck out a career-best 13 batters at Savannah State on 3/3/17, one shy of the school record for a single game. Potojecki was second on the team with three 10-strikeout games.
•Cody Wager struck out 10 batters at UNC Wilmington 3/11/17 and was magical again with 10 strikeouts in 8.1 shutout innings vs. Charleston Southern 3/18/17, taking a no-hitter two outs into the eighth. Wager then struck out a career-high 13 batters in a complete game win against Presbyterian 4/13/17. Wager led the squad with four 10-strikeout games.
•Longwood led the Big South with 511 punchouts, breaking the previous school D-I record of 440 in 2015.
•Wager led the Big South with 91 strikeouts and Potojecki was third with 82. Potojecki was 16th in the nation with 11.71 strikeouts per nine innings, right behind Auburn's Casey Mize (11.73).
•Longwood was 3rd in the country with 9.9 strikeouts per nine innings as a team.
•Senior outfielder Sammy Miller was great in the lead-off role in 2017, reaching base at a rate of .382 (26-for-68) when leading off an inning. Miller finished third in the conference with 22 steals.
•Longwood senior left-hander Michael Catlin returns as one of Longwood's go-to arms, having served in virtually every role for the pitching staff in his career.
•In 2017 the bullpen ace tied for the team his with 22 appearances, which included to starts, two saves, and five relief outings that of at least 3.0 innings.
•Freshman outfielder Antwaun Tucker won two Big South Freshman of the Week Awards in 2017, the first on April 24, 2017 and the second on May 15, 2017.
•In the week starting 4/17/17, Tucker hit .375 with two home runs, picked up four RBI, and stole three bases.
•On 4/21/17 Tucker hit a game-tying homer to lead off the bottom of the ninth inning in Longwood's walk-off win against Winthrop.
•In the week beginning 5/8 Tucker hit .400 with a 1.038 OPS and six runs scored.
•11 Lancers made their Longwood debuts over the weekend at Auburn, with eight freshmen and three transfers getting into the action on the road against an SEC opponent.
•Junior outfielder Jawan McAllister, a transfer from Pittsburgh, made his Longwood debut, starting all three games and going 2-for-8 in the series.
•Junior second baseman Eli Mercado, a transfer from Olive-Harvey College, started all three games in the weekend series and scored Longwood's lone run Saturday.
•Freshman outfielder Jack Schnell picked up his first career hit at Auburn, starting all three games on the weekend.
•Junior outfielder Eric Crain, a transfer from Morehead State, picked up three at-bats off the bench at Auburn.
•Freshman outfielder Jake Jansen entered Saturday's game as a defensive replacement and picked up his first career at-bat against Auburn pitching.
•Freshman right-hander Tyler Knapp made his Longwood debut out of the bullpen Saturday, tossing a scoreless inning in relief.
•Freshman righty Tommy Green was called upon Friday and struck out five batters in 2.0 innings of work.
•Freshman right-hander Maceo Campbell made his collegiate debut Saturday at Auburn, lasting 1.2 innings.
•Todd Moxey, a freshman right-hander, made his first career appearance Saturday at Auburn.
•Freshman southpaw Daniel Brandon made his Longwood debut on the road at Auburn in Saturday's game two.
•Longwood placed around the top 30 in several statistical categories in the NCAA during the 2017 season.
NCAA • Team Strikeouts Per 9 Inn.
Rank K/9
3. Longwood 9.9
NCAA • Strikeouts Per 9 Inn.
Rank K/9
16. Zach Potojecki 11.71
NCAA • Triples
Rank Triples
7. Antwaun Tucker 7
NCAA • Stolen Bases
Rank Steals
35. Sammy Miller 22
NCAA • Stolen Bases Per Game
Rank Steals Per Game
24. Sammy Miller .45
Scouting Niagara
•Longwood and Niagara are meeting for a three-game series for the first matchup since the two teams played a four-game set in Farmville in 2012.
•Niagara took the first three games of the series and led 9-8 in the eighth inning of the final game, but the Lancers rallied for five runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to take the series finale.
•The 2017 Niagara Purple Eagles finished 24-24, 12-12 in the MAAC, and had four all-conference selections, led by MAAC Rookie of the Year, Matthew Brash. Two players, Daniel Procopio and Tanner Kirwer, were selected in the MLB Draft.
•The returning leading hitter is redshirt senior outfielder Trevor McCauley, who hit .367 with a pair of homers and 29 RBI, posting a team-high .500 slugging percentage in 2017.
•Sophomore first baseman and outfielder Peter Battaglia led the team with four home runs and 48 RBI a season ago.
Niagara returns three .300 hitters, as junior infielder Greg Cullen hit .341 in 2017.
•Heading up the rotation is Cody Eckerson, a senior left-hander, who posted a 2.29 ERA with a 6-2 record in 2017.
•Sophomore righty Nate Mascellino posted a 2.67 ERA in 16 appearances, eight starts, last season.
•Brash went 5-1 with a 2.79 ERA in 2017 with a team-high 63 strikeouts in a team-leading 77.1 innings pitched.
#GoWood
