ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Only two runs separated Longwood and UNC Asheville on the diamond on Friday afternoon in a doubleheader. Unfortunately for the Lancers, Asheville managed to squeeze past a feisty, competitive Longwood squad that refused to go away, with Asheville (15-25, 14-18 Big South) winning 11-10 in a high-scoring series opener before sneaking out a 3-2 win in the second game.
 
The first game featured plenty of offense, as the two sides combined for 24 base knocks, while the second game featured power pitching, with the two staffs striking out a combined 23 batters.
 
Ultimately, Brandon Lankford's walkoff sacrifice fly was the difference in the first game, erasing a furious Longwood comeback that saw the Lancers erase a 7-1 deficit in the seventh inning.
 
For Longwood (14-27, 7-20 Big South), comebacks were the theme of the day, with the Lancers scoring 11 of their 12 runs in the fifth inning or later on the day. In game one, they rallied twice in the final three innings to either tie or take the lead behind Jack Schnell's three hits, three RBI and two runs scored at the plate. Ricky Jimenez joined him with a trio of base knocks in the game.
 
Meanwhile, in game two, the Lancers scraped and clawed against a Bulldog staff that limited them to three hits while totaling 13 strikeouts, and the team had chances with the tying run on base in both the seventh and ninth innings of game two.
 
The Lancer pitching staff nearly matched UNC Asheville pitch for pitch with the pitching trio of Dylan Saale, Matt Shobe and Andrew Potojecki. The three combined for 10 strikeouts while only giving up six total hits, one shy of the season low in a nine-inning game.
 
The two sides will play the series finale on Saturday afternoon, with the first pitch set for 4 p.m. Longwood will send left-hander Andrew Melnyk to the mound against Asheville right-hander Kole Harris. The game will be aired on ESPN+.
 
Game 1: UNC Asheville 11, Longwood 10
 
After a furious final three innings in the series opener, Brandon Lankford delivered the final blow to end a slugfest between the two teams. The UNC Asheville senior knocked a sacrifice fly deep to right field to walk off Longwood 11-10 at Greenwood Baseball Field.
 
Lankford's 36^th RBI of the season fended off a ferocious comeback by Longwood that saw the Lancers erase a 7-1 deficit in the final three innings.
 
Schnell went 3-6 while driving in three runs and scoring twice more to lead the charge for a Lancer offense that muscled out 14 hits, the fifth straight game for Longwood with at least 10. It was his second straight game with three hits, and he was one of four Lancers with a multi-hit effort. Jimenez went 3-5 at the plate for his fourth multi-hit game in his last five contests, while Hayden Harris continued his hot streak with a pair of base hits. Eliot Dix also went 2-5 at the plate with two runs scored.
 
However, the Bulldogs answered with 10 hits while also drawing 11 walks, including two in the fateful ninth inning. Lankford drew a pair of intentional walks while also driving in two runs, and Dominic Freeberger and Ty Kaufman each went 2-5 at the plate with two RBI as the top five in the Asheville order combined to drive in nine of the team's 11 runs.
 
Asheville built a 7-1 lead after taking advantage of a few Longwood miscues over the first six innings, but Longwood came alive in the seventh. With the bases loaded, Schnell punched a three-run double down the line that cut the lead to three, and the Lancer offense followed his lead. Hunter Gilliam and James Nelson also delivered RBI base knocks as Longwood put together a seven-run inning while racking up six hits. Nelson's two-out, two-run single up the gut gave the Lancers an 8-7 lead.
 
The Bulldogs retook the lead in their half of the seventh by plating three to go up 10-7, but Dillon Champagne answered with a two-out base hit for the Lancers. With runners at second and third, Champagne delivered a grounder straight up the middle that scored both and evened the score at 10 apiece. He finished the game with a career-best three RBI
 
Champagne (0-3) then went to the mound to pitch and tossed a scoreless eighth before running into trouble in the ninth. He took the loss while Freeberger (2-0) earned the win for UNC Asheville after coming on in relief in the eighth inning.
 
Game Two: UNC Asheville 3, Longwood 2
 
After all the offensive fireworks in the first game, the pitchers locked the second game down and only allowed nine total hits between the two teams.
 
Jacob Edwards (4-6) was masterful for UNC Asheville, tying a career best with 10 strikeouts over his six innings of work. He earned the win while only giving up one unearned run on one hit and two walks.
 
Meanwhile, Saale (1-3) settled down after a bumpy first inning and struck out four in five solid innings, with the true freshman only surrendering three runs on five hits and a walk. He took the tough luck loss. Shobe and Potojecki each struck out three while facing one more than the minimum over the final three innings combined, providing a chance for the Lancers late.
 
Offensively, PJ Heintz proved to be the difference for Asheville, as the junior had a hand in all three Bulldog runs. He drove both runs in the first inning with a single to right field, and he scored after leading off the fourth with a double in the fourth.
 
The Lancers scratched and clawed back in the latter innings. Michael Peterson poked a single in the fifth before stealing second and third, and an error allowed him to cut the lead to 3-1.
 
In the seventh, Nelson drew a walk, and Michael Dolberry roped an RBI double to right-center to cut the lead to one, but UNC Asheville's Blake Little shut the door from that point on. He earned the save, his first of the season, after tossing the final three innings. The right-hander gave up one run on two hits and a walk.
 
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