HIGH POINT, N.C. – High Point's pitching staff kept Longwood's offense off balance on Tuesday afternoon, limiting the Lancers to two hits, and the Panther offense put together timely big swings in the 9-2 win. Joe Johnson homered in the fifth, and Cole Singsank doubled with the bases loaded in the seventh at Williard Stadium.
David Keith pitched into the seventh for High Point (6-7, 3-4 Big South) and stranded five Longwood runners in his first six innings of work before exiting in the seventh. His bullpen didn't allow a hit, with CJ Neese throwing two scoreless frames followed by a scoreless ninth from Mason Kearney. Keith (1-0) earned the win while giving up two runs on two hits with six strikeouts against four walks.
Meanwhile, Johnson's big swing in the fifth and Singsank's three-run double in the seventh created separation. Singsank went 2-4 with two runs scored, and Blake Sutton added a two-hit, two-RBI day.
"They came up with the timely hits, and we just couldn't get our bats going," said Longwood head coach
Ryan Mau. "We had our best chance in the seventh, but we weren't able to cash in."
Entering the seventh inning down 5-1, the Lancers (7-8, 1-3 Big South) loaded the bases with no outs after
Michael Dolberry and
Michael Peterson walked and
Drayven Kowalski was hit by a pitch.
Cullan Wadsworth drove in a run with a sacrifice fly to center, but Neese managed to escape the trouble without any further damage.
In the fourth inning,
Hunter Gilliam raced home on a wild pitch to give Longwood an early lead in what had started as a pitcher's duel, but High Point responded with two runs in the home half of the fourth. Sutton drove home the go-ahead run with a single up the middle.
Dylan Saale (1-2) took the loss for Longwood. He struck out five in five innings of work while giving up five runs on six hits and two walks.
Longwood heads home after seven straight away from Buddy Bolding Stadium. The Lancers host Winthrop for a three-game series this weekend, with one game on Friday night followed by a doubleheader on Saturday. Friday's game is set for 5 p.m., with Saturday's doubleheader slated to start at 1 p.m. All three games are scheduled to air on ESPN+.
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