Longwood University Athletics

Games 34-36: Longwood (11-22, 4-15 Big South) at USC Upstate (24-9, 15-9 Big South)
Date & Time	Games 1 & 2: April 23, 2021 • 3 p.m. (DH) Game 3: April 24, 2021 • 2 p.m.
Location	Spartanburg, S.C. (Harley Park)
Series Notes	Longwood (PDF) | USC Upstate | Big South
Statistics	Longwood (HTML) | USC Upstate | Big South
Live Stats	USC Upstate Live Stats
TV/Vido	Game 1: ESPN+ Game 2: ESPN+
Social Media	@LongwoodLancers | @LongwoodBase

Lancer Leadoff

• Longwood heads out to USC Upstate for a three-game series, the only scheduled series between the two sides this season.
• Originally, the two teams were scheduled for a single game on Friday followed by a doubleheader on Saturday, but the schedule was changed due to a poor weather forecast. The teams will now play the doubleheader on Friday followed by a single game on Saturday with a makeup date for Sunday, if necessary.
• The Lancers are in the midst of a stretch that has them playing 12 of 15 at home following a nine-game homestand.
• The Longwood offense ranks third in the Big South in runs (184), hits (281) and RBI (166) and fourth in home runs (22).
• Eliot Dix has been one of the top hitters in the Big South, ranking in the top 10 in batting average (.347-8th), slugging percentage (.551-10th) and RBI (31-T-4th).
• Longwood's pitching staff is second in the Big South in strikeouts with 266 and strikeouts looking with 74. The staff has finished in the top three of the league four times in head coach Ryan Mau's six prior seasons at the helm.

Last Time Out

• Dillon Champagne hit his first collegiate homer, but Radford ran away from Longwood behind a quick start that saw the Highlanders post runs in four of the first five innings to jump out to a big lead in the 16-5 win. Matt Shobe came out of the bullpen for Longwood and put up three scoreless innings, but the damage had been done.

By The Numbers

• The Lancers hold a .358 on-base percentage through 33 games, sixth in the Big South.
• As a team, Longwood is fourth in the Big South with 128 walks drawn. In addition, the team is third in the league after being hit by a pitch 54 times.
• Michael Peterson has drawn a team-best 15 walks. He and Cullan Wadsworth are tied for tenth in the lead after being hit by seven pitches.
• Longwood is third in the Big South with 281 base hits. The team has posted a season-high 15 hits twice. The first came against NC Central in a 22-14 win, while the second came in a 7-6 loss to Presbyterian.
• In the 13 games that Longwood has had at least 10 hits, the team has gone 9-4. 
• Longwood has posted at least 10 hits in six of their past nine games.
• The Lancers hold a .254 batting average.
• Longwood's offense tied for third in the Big South with 150 hits in 2020 while ranking fourth in hits per game with 8.8. The team was also third in RBI with 77.
• The Lancers are third in the Big South with 184 runs scored. Cullan Wadsworth, Hayden Harris, Jack Schnell, Hunter Gilliam and Ricky Jimenez lead the way.
• Wadsworth is tied for ninth in the league with 25 runs. Harris has added 21 runs, and the two are the only players for Longwood with at least 20.
• Schnell and Ricky Jimenez have each scored 19 times while Gilliam has scored 18 times.
• With 11 homers in the past 10 games, Longwood sits fourth in the Big South in home runs. The Lancers have hit 22, with Eliot Dix, Cullan Wadsworth and Ricky Jimenez leading the team.
• The team hit a season-high three home runs against Norfolk State after hitting two against Gardner-Webb, the first time in 2021 Longwood has hit multiple home runs in back-to-back games.
• Dix's five home runs lead Longwood, and he is part of a tie for sixth in the Big South.
• Cullan Wadsworth had his first multi-homer game of his Longwood career against Norfolk State, swatting a two-run and a three-run bomb. He has four on the season. He is tied for 12th in the Big South with four.
• Ricky Jimenez became the third Lancer with a multi-homer game this season, smashing two home runs on April 17 in game one against Presbyterian. The junior is tied for 12th in the Big South with four homers.
• Eleven players have hit a homer for Longwood.
• Longwood is tied for fifth in the Big South with eight triples and seventh with 25 stolen bases.
• Michael Peterson leads the way on the bases for Longwood, posting a team-best six stolen bases on eight attempts. Nate Blakeney is right behind him, going 4-5 on stolen base attempts.
• Ten different players have stolen a base for Longwood.
• Meanwhile, Hunter Gilliam has cranked three triples to lead Longwood and tie for the lead in the Big South. The big first baseman hit triples in back-to-back games against Norfolk State on March 9 and March 14 (game one) in addition to his triple on opening day at The Citadel.
• Andrew Gorham is tied for eighth in the league with two triples. Drayven Kowalski, Michael Dolberry and Cullan Wadsworth have the other triples for the Lancers.
• As a team, Longwood is second in the Big South in strikeouts (266) and strikeouts looking (74) to continue a trend under head coach Ryan Mau. The Lancers have ranked in the top three of the Big South in strikeouts four times in the previous six seasons
• Longwood topped the Big South in strikeouts in per nine innings in 2020 while finishing second in total strikeouts
• The Lancers have consistently ranked near the top of the Big South in strikeouts. In 2019, the Lancers were fourth with 411 K's. In 2018, the Lancers were third with 468 K's. In 2017, Longwood led the Big South with 511 punchouts in 2017, breaking the school's D-I record of 440.  That season, Longwood was also third in the nation with 9.9 strikeouts per nine innings. The Lancers were fifth in the Big South in 2016 with 404 K's and third in 2015 with 440 K's.
• Eliot Dix has mashed in the middle of the lineup for Longwood in 2021. The freshman ranks in the top 10 in the Big South in batting average (.347-8th), slugging percentage (.551-10th) and RBI (31-T-4th).
• Dix had a huge four-game series against Presbyterian on 4/16-17 where he hit .412 (7-17) while driving in eight runs. Of his eight RBI, five came with two outs on the board. He had three multi-hit games and three multi-RBI games.

Scouting USC Upstate

• Longwood and USC Upstate meet for the first time in 2021 for the only scheduled series between the two teams.
• The Spartans are coming off an 11-8 win on Tuesday against Presbyterian. On the season, USC Upstate has won six separate three-game series, including four conference series. The Spartans have also knocked off Clemson and Georgia Tech in midweek tilts.
• In conference play, USC Upstate has won five of six against Radford while also taking two of three against High Point and Gardner-Webb. The Spartans have lost two of three to Charleston Southern, Campbell and Winthrop.
• On offense, the Spartans are one of the top squads in the Big South, ranking second in batting average (.286), runs (206), doubles (58), triples (11), RBI (187), on-base percentage (.378) and slugging percentage (.397).
• As a pitching staff, USC Upstate holds the only sub-3.00 ERA in the league, boasting a 2.86 ERA across 289.2 innings pitched. The team also leads the Big South with 301 strikeouts while holding opponents to a .229 batting average.
• Jordan Marks has been lights out on the mound for the Spartans, tallying a 1.62 ERA in 61 innings, both conference-leading marks. In addition, he leads the league with 70 strikeouts while going 6-1 and holding opponents to a .207 batting average across his nine starts. He has only walked 10.
• Alex Gabrick sits second in the league in ERA, posting a 2.08 ERA in 39.0 innings across eight starts. Gabrick has a 4-2 record while holding opponents to a .211 batting average.
• Out of the bullpen, Kevin Davis (1-1, 0.56 ERA) and Austin Morgan (2-1, 3.12 ERA) each have made a team-leading 11 appearances, with Davis posting five saves and Morgan adding two more. Davis has struck out 27 in 16.0 innings while only giving up one run on seven hits and 12 walks. Morgan has added 23 strikeouts in 17.1 innings. Sean Hupp (2-2, 3.15 ERA) has totaled three saves in 20.0 innings over eight appearances. Jake Cubbler (2-0, 4.60 ERA) has also made 10 appearances out of the bullpen.
• Jeff Taylor leads the team with a .346 batting average over 20 starts. Devin Buckner has started all 32 games he has played in, and he is hitting .336 with 29 RBI on 10 doubles and two homers while drawing 21 walks.
• Jack Gallagher is tied for fourth in the league with 31 RBI while hitting .304, one of six players on the roster hitting better than .300 for the Spartans. Gallagher is tied for the team lead with three homers along with Noah Rabon, who is hitting .323 with 25 RBI.

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