FARMVILLE, Va. – Winthrop jumped out to an early lead on Sunday afternoon, and the Eagles (14-9 overall, 6-0 Big South) tied a season high with 20 hits to take down Longwood 10-3 and sweep the series. Every time the Lancers rallied for runs, Winthrop answered in the next half inning.
"Winthrop is a very offensive team and one of the top in the league for a reason," said Longwood head coach
Ryan Mau. "They were better than us in all three facets. We have to keep working to improve."
Winthrop jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first behind an RBI single by Hunter Lipscomb and a two-run double from Grant English, but the Lancers snagged a run back in the bottom half of the inning. With
Hunter Gilliam on second base,
Nate Blakeney sent an RBI single through the right side with two outs to cut the lead to 3-1.
Tanner Baker pushed the lead back to three with an RBI single in the fourth, Gilliam turned an unassisted double play after snagging a line drive at first and stepping on the bag to end the threat.
Gilliam reached on an error with one out in the third, and the Lancers rallied to cut the lead to one.
De'Andre Pitts singled through the left side and took second on the throw when Gilliam went first to third. With two outs,
Nathan Iskowitz drove a single up the middle to score Gilliam and Pitts that made it 4-3. He finished the day with a career high two hits while tying his career high with the two RBI.
"He did a great job of sparking us early on with a big two out hit," said Mau.
Winthrop answered by erupting for four runs in the top of the fourth behind a pair of two-out triples by Spencer Yankle and English for an 8-3 lead, and the Eagles kept Longwood off the board from that point on.
Thad Harris (1-2) earned his first win of the season by striking out five in five innings. He allowed three runs, all unearned, on five hits and a walk.
Nick Fuchs (1-3) took the loss for Longwood after surrendering eight runs on 14 hits and a walk in 3.2 innings.
The Lancers play four straight on the road this week, beginning with a midweek game against in-state foe Virginia on Tuesday afternoon. First pitch is set for 4 p.m.
#GoWood
