FARMVILLE, Va. – Longwood baseball fought to the bitter end to open a doubleheader on Thursday at Buddy Bolding Stadium, but Charleston Southern managed to fend off the Lancers to win the doubleheader 10-8 and 6-4.
 
The Bucs (17-26, 17-22 Big South) used a career game by Reid Hardwick to win game one, with the shortstop tying a career best with five RBI while going 3-4 at the plate. In the second game, the Bucs scored in each of the final four innings behind some opportunistic and aggressive base running that took advantage of any openings.
 
That was enough to squeeze past Longwood (17-31, 10-24 Big South) and one of the hottest hitters in the conference in Hayden Harris. The freshman racked up back-to-back three-hit games, going 6-9 at the plate on the day. He now has 17 multi-hit games this season, one shy of Eliot Dix, who also had back-to-back two-hit games, including his sixth homer of the year in game two.
 
Not much separated the two teams on the day, with Longwood outhitting Charleston Southern 19-16. However, the Buccaneers drew 12 walks to Longwood's 10 and keyed on three Longwood errors that led to a pair of runs.
 
The Lancers refused to back down and had chances to even the score in the ninth inning of both games, bringing the tying run to the plate each time. But the Charleston Southern bullpen and defense did their jobs, using a double play to end game one before a big strikeout ended game two.
 
The two sides will meet for the series finale on Friday afternoon at 1 p.m. Longwood will send left-hander Andrew Melnyk to the mound to face off against right-hander RJ Petit. Longwood will honor its seniors prior to the game. The game will be aired on ESPN+.
 
Game One, Charleston Southern 10, Longwood 8: Hardwick's Career Game Powers Bucs
 
In game one, Reid Hardwick drove in runs in four different innings  as part of a five-RBI game for the Buccaneers. Hardwick delivered RBI in each of his final four plate appearances with two RBI doubles, an RBI single and a sacrifice fly in his best offensive game of the season. His two-out double in the top of the ninth extended Charleston Southern's lead to 10-8 to tie a career best with five RBI.
 
That was part of an effort that saw the bottom three in the Charleston Southern order combine to drive in eight of the team's 10 runs. Connor Aldrich drove in two runs, and Sam Trend-Beacom drew three walks while also driving in a run.
 
Hayden Harris led an aggressive Longwood (17-30, 10-23 Big South) offense that put up 11 base hits, with the true freshman tallying his eighth multi-hit game in his past 11. He went 3-5 while setting a career high with three RBI, and he was one of three players with multiple base hits. Michael Dolberry and Eliot Dix each added a pair of base knocks.
 
Jack Schnell gave Longwood an early lead, scoring on a wild pitch, and Harris smacked an RBI double for a 2-0 lead through two innings.
 
The Bucs answered in the middle innings, punching home eight runs between the fourth and sixth innings. Hardwick and Aldrich drove in three of the team's four in the fourth, and Hardwick added an RBI double in the fifth that helped create some separation.
 
The Lancers scratched and clawed back into the game by piecing together six runs in the seventh and eighth to cut the lead to 9-8. In the seventh, Michael Peterson cranked an RBI triple to right to start the scoring, and Harris added an RBI single a few batters later. Dix poked home a run with a single up the middle, but a costly base running mistake sapped the momentum on a Hunter Gilliam single. In the eighth, Harris and Jack Schnell drove in runs with back-to-back singles. Harris got caught in a rundown on the single, and Peterson raced home to trim the lead to 9-8 and set the stage for a tight ninth inning.
 
The Lancers brought the tying run to the plate after a leadoff walk by Hunter Gilliam, but the infield turned a double play two batters later to end the game.
 
Daniel Padysak (4-5) earned the win after pitching into the seventh inning for Charleston Southern. He struck out eight while giving up five runs on five hits and three walks. Krishna Raj earned his first save by closing out the final 1.1 innings.
 
Dylan Saale (2-4) took the loss for Longwood. The freshman struck out three in 4.1 innings while giving up six runs on six hits.
 
Game Two, Charleston Southern 6, Longwood 4: Late Runs Lead Bucs Past Lancers
 
Five runs over the final four innings proved to be the difference in a nail biter of a game two between Longwood and Charleston Southern. The Bucs tallied six runs on six hits and six walks as four different players knocked home a run to win it 6-4.
 
For the Lancers, the long ball kept them in the game, as both Eliot Dix and Jack Schnell clocked homers over the right field wall as part of a surge over the final four innings that saw them plate four runs. Harris added three hits of his own while also drawing a critical walk in the game. Ricky Jimenez added a two-hit day of his own as well for a Lancer offense that put up eight hits after getting off to a slow start.
 
After Charleston Southern plated two in the top of the sixth to take a 3-0 lead, Dix reignited the Lancer dugout. The freshman hit a two-out thunderbolt over the right field wall after a leadoff single by Harris. The homer was his sixth of the season and cut the lead to 3-2. Jimenez kept the inning going with a double off the left field wall before taking third on a wild pitch. After Michael Dolberry walked, the two executed a perfect double steal, with Dolberry dodging around a rundown on his way to second while Jimenez raced home to tie the game.
 
An RBI single by Charleston Southern's Andrew Bullock broke the tie in the top of the seventh, and the Bucs tacked on another run with aggressive baserunning from Derek Horton and an RBI single by Connor Aldrich.
 
Schnell promptly deposited a solo shot over the right field wall, his second home run of the season, in the bottom of the eighth to cut the lead to 5-4.
 
Again, the Bucs answered with a run in the top of the ninth, but Longwood rallied in the final half inning of the game. The Lancers put the tying run at second, but Connor Yoder escaped the jam with a groundout and a strikeout to preserve the win.
 
Jordan Bridges (2-2) earned the relief win for Charleston Southern after taking over in the sixth inning. The right-hander struck out two in 1.2 innings and gave up one run on one hit while walking one. Yoder earned the save, his first of the season, by finishing out the ninth.
 
For Longwood, Andrew Potojecki pitched 5.2 strong innings while receiving a no decision on the mound. Despite a trio of defensive errors, he limited Charleston Southern to three runs, one earned, on three hits and a walk with three strikeouts. Matt Shobe (1-2) took the loss, giving up the run in the seventh while striking out one in his inning of work.
 
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