FARMVILLE, Va. – The Longwood baseball team showed grit and battled back, earning a hard-fought doubleheader split against Winthrop on Saturday afternoon at Buddy Bolding Stadium. The Lancers (8-9, 2-4 Big South) took game two 7-3 with a late rally powered by Michael Dolberry and Eliot Dix.
 
The duo ripped off six of Longwood's 12 hits and drove in five of the team's seven runs as the Lancers never quit. The effort culminated in an explosive four-run eighth-inning rally, giving Longwood its first lead of the day and the win.
 
Dolberry excelled in the game two start, as he tallied not only his first collegiate base hits, but he also drove in both the game tying run in the sixth and the go-ahead run in the eighth. The freshman went 3-4 at the plate in the game with a pair of doubles and two runs scored.
 
Meanwhile, Dix was a menace to Winthrop all afternoon, racking up five hits and a pair of home runs. In the first game, he bopped a solo shot that tied the score early, but he one-upped himself with a monstrous blast over the scoreboard in right field in game two to seal the game. On the day, he went 5-10 with four RBI while also scoring four times.
 
Late runs were the theme of the day for the Lancers, with Longwood putting up 10 total runs over the final four innings of the two games, with a four-run rally coming up one run short as the Winthrop (4-6, 1-1 Big South) took the first game 6-5.
 
"I thought we were a little flat out of the gate today with our energy," said Longwood head coach Ryan Mau. "We tried to get it going late in game one and showed some fight there. We knew the second game was a must win for us and that we had to get after them in game two. Our energy level was where it needed to be, and we fed off that."
 
The Lancer bullpen put together back-to-back strong outings as well, giving the Lancer offense the space to come back in both games. Between the two games, the bullpen threw eight innings of one-run ball, with Dominick D'Ercole and Logan Berrier tossing 3.2 scoreless innings in the second game after Sean Gibbons, Garrett Erford and Zane Eggleston combined to surrender one run across 4.1 innings in the first game.
 
Game 2: Longwood 7, Winthrop 3
 
With Winthrop nursing a 3-1 lead entering the bottom of the sixth inning, the bottom of Longwood's order came up big. Hayden Harris sent a single up the middle with two on, scoring one, to cut the lead to 3-2, and Dolberry swatted his second double of the game down the left field line to even the score.
 
Dolberry came up just as clutch again in the eighth inning. With Harris on base, the freshman outfielder singled through the left side to send Harris home and give Longwood the 4-3 lead. After Cullan Wadsworth doubled home Dolberry, Dix demolished a home run over the right field scoreboard. His two-run blast gave Longwood the 7-3 lead.
 
"We've been talking, and it's all hands on deck with the things that are going on in college baseball," said Mau. "The opportunity will come up, and you've got to be ready for it. And Dolberry's put in the work, and we gave him a start on Tuesday. He didn't quite cash in there, but he got another opportunity. I'm really proud of Dolbs and the job he did for us. That was big."
 
On the mound, Berrier (1-0) earned the win after taking over from D'Ercole in the eighth inning. The freshman struck out two while working around one hit and one walk to pitch 1.2 scoreless innings. D'Ercole set the table with two scoreless, hitless innings while striking out four against three walks. The duo took over after Andrew Melnyk exited with one out in the sixth. The big lefty struck out two while giving up three runs, one earned, on two walks and eight hits in the no decision.
 
"I thought the bullpen did a really good job," Mau added. "Melnyk wasn't his best today, but I thought he competed and got us deep into the game and gave us an opportunity to get into our bullpen. The bullpen did a spectacular job. I thought D'Ercole gave us some crucial shutdown innings there, and then Logan Berrier is just electric right now."
 
For Winthrop, Parker Kruglewicz (0-1) took the loss after being charged with all four of Longwood's runs in the eighth inning. He struck out one while giving up four hits without a walk.
 
Game 1: Winthrop 6, Longwood 5
 
In the opening game of the day, Winthrop jumped out to a 6-1 lead after five and a half innings. Joseph Szvetitz had one of the biggest ones with a bases-loaded, three-run double in the fifth inning that broke a 1-1 tie. Dillon Morton added an RBI single in the sixth that made it 6-1, one of his two hits in the game.
 
The Lancer offense responded in its half of the sixth. With Hunter Gilliam and Dix aboard, Jack Schnell poked a two-run single down the right field line that trimmed the lead to 6-3. Schnell went 2-3 at the plate in the game.
 
After the Lancer bullpen put up back-to-back scoreless innings, Schnell and Dix reached in the eighth. Justin Looney came in and drove a ball to the right-center gap for a two-run, pinch hit double that cut the lead to 6-5. Looney eventually made it to third, but the bullpen duo of Aaron White and Colten Rendon escaped the trouble with a strikeout and flyout to escape the trouble. Rendon then closed the ninth to earn the save.
 
Tyler Jones (1-1) earned the win on the mound for Winthrop, tossing 5.1 innings and striking out six to no walks while giving up one run.
 
Colton Hutt (1-1) took the loss for Longwood. The junior left after 4.2 innings of work, striking out a career best seven. He gave up five runs on six hits and six walks. Erford, in his his first appearance out of the bullpen, worked around a hit and two walks to throw one scoreless relief inning. Zane Eggleston put up back-to-back zeros with a scoreless eighth and ninth in relief with one strikeout and one walk.
 
The two sides meet for the series finale on Sunday afternoon at Buddy Bolding Stadium. The game will be on ESPN+, with first pitch set for 1 p.m.
 
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