CHARLESTON, S.C. – A three-run triple by leadoff man Aaron Chapman and a shutout performance from the IPFW bullpen proved to be the difference as the Mastodons pulled away from Longwood 9-4 on day two of the Swig & Swing Classic Saturday afternoon at Shipyard Park.
Chapman's bases-loaded triple in the bottom of the second erased Longwood's 2-0 lead and put IPFW (4-9) ahead for good, and reliever Chase Phelps came out of the bullpen to silence Longwood's bats with a three-inning save.
Phelps entered the game with a 5-4 lead in the top of the seventh, allowed just three baserunners and retired eight of the final nine batters he faced to secure a three-inning save and lock up the win for IPFW starter Cameron Boyd (2-2). His performance helped the Mastodons overcame another multi-hit day from sophomore catcher
Drayven Kowalski, who powered the Lancer offense with a 2-for-4 performance that included two RBI, a run and his second double of the season.
Longwood (4-11) entered the game on the strength of a 7-5 win over Sacred Heart on the opening day of the six-team tournament and rode that momentum to a 2-0 lead by the end of the first inning. Shortstop Ricky Jiminez and Kowalski teamed up for back-to-back RBI knocks in that inning, but IPFW got those runs back and then some in the bottom half of the second.
That second-inning rally began with an infield single by Drew Reich and continued when Robert Young III moved him to second with a single through the left side. Longwood starter
John Gregory (1-2) picked up two strikeouts and nearly escaped the inning, but Dylan Stewart reignited the IPFW rally with a single that loaded the bases, and Chapman cleared them all with a triple to the left field gap.
Gregory ended that inning with another strikeout – one of his career-high six on the day – but the damage was enough to keep the Mastodons out in front for good.
IPFW tacked on two more runs in the bottom of the third to stretch that lead to 5-2 before Lancer senior
Nick Fuchs came in and shut down the Mastodon bats over the next three frames. Longwood took advantage of his performance out of the pen to rally for two more runs in the top of the sixth, capitalizing on a one-out double by
Dillon Champagne with an RBI single from Kowalski and a bases-loaded walk drawn by freshman
Michael Dolberry. However, Boyd escaped that jam without further damage and stranded three on base with a strikeout, keeping IPFW on top 5-4 heading into the top of the seventh.
Phelps took over for Boyd in the top of the seventh and shook off a leadoff walk to
Andrew Gorham and a single by
Jack Schnell to sit down three straight batters and leave Gorham, the tying run, in scoring position. Gorham would be the last baserunner Longwood moved into scoring position against Phelps, as the senior right-hander faced the minimum the rest of the way.
IPFW got one of those runs back on their next turn at the plate, and Phelps continued to hold Longwood's bats in check the rest of the way. IPFW added three more insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth on a bases-loaded, three-run double by Travis Upp en route to the 9-4 final score.
Along with Kowalski's two RBI, Longwood center field
Michael Peterson reached twice with a single and a walk and swiped his team-leading sixth base of the season. Gorham also reached twice and scored a run, while Champagne crossed the plate twice from the cleanup spot.
The Lancers will have a chance to come out of the Swig & Swine Classic with a winning record on the final day Sunday, which pits them against Ball State in the first game of the day at 9:30 a.m.
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