CHARLESTON, S.C. – The offense delivered timely hits early, and the pitching staff made it stick late as Longwood took down Sacred Heart at the Swig & Swine Classic at Shipyard Park. The Lancers (4-10) took the lead in the first inning and never trailed in a 7-5 win.
Cullan Wadsworth came into the day leading the Big South in runs scored with 13, and the sophomore leadoff man added two runs to that total while also tallying two base hits.
Michael Peterson added two runs and two hits of his own, while
Ricky Jimenez knocked out two hits for an aggressive Longwood offense that stole five bases to go with eight hits and five drawn walks.
Meanwhile, the Lancer pitching staff struck out 11 after
Maceo Campbell gave the team solid footing in his second straight collegiate start. Campbell struck out five and put up three scoreless frames before Sacred Heart rallied for a four-run, four-hit fourth inning.
Josh Longabaugh (1-0) took over to start the fifth inning and did not surrender a run in 2.1 innings of work to earn the win. He struck out one against two hits and no walks.
Aidan McEvoy and
Dillon Champagne combined to seal the deal on the back end, with Champagne earning his second save of the season.
"Maceo gave us a nice start, and the bullpen was outstanding the rest of the way," said Longwood head coach
Ryan Mau. "It helped to jump out to the lead early on. Offensively, we executed some things well and came up with a few big hits. We also ran the bases aggressively, which was good to see."
In the top of the first, Wadsworth singled, and the Lancers loaded the bases with nobody out.
Andrew Gorham poked a two-run single through the right side for a quick 2-0 lead before sophomore
Drayven Kowalski added one more on a sacrifice fly to left field to make it 3-0.
After
Jack Schnell drove in a run with a groundout in the second, Jimenez stole home in the fourth to put the Lancers up 5-0.
The Pioneers (3-6) rallied in the fourth to plate four runs on four hits and a Longwood error. Isiah Daubon, Danny Glendon and Joey Skarad each drove in a run as Sacred Heart trimmed the lead to 5-4.
Longabaugh kept Sacred Heart at bay on the mound to start the fifth, and the Lancer offense added some cushion in the seventh inning. Peterson singled, Wadsworth cranked his third triple of the season, and Schnell doubled as Longwood was a home run short of the cycle in the inning while pushing the lead to 7-4. Wadsworth's triple gave him his fifth multi-hit game of the season.
In the ninth, Sacred Heart's Kyle Oliver singled a run to cut the lead to 7-5, and he represented the tying run. Champagne slammed the door shut with back-to-back strikeouts to preserve the win.
Ryan Lamay (1-1) took the loss for Sacred Heart after surrendering six runs on six hits and four walks against five strikeouts. He pitched into the seventh inning.
The Lancers take on Purdue Fort Wayne in their second game at the Swig & Swine Classic on Saturday morning at 11 a.m. Longwood sends left-handed senior
John Gregory to the mound, while Purdue Fort Wayne is scheduled to start right-hander Cameron Boyd.
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