LYNCHBURG, Va. – Longwood baseball refused to go away on Wednesday afternoon in Lynchburg, but a late rally came up just short at Liberty. The Lancers (2-8) scored four runs in the seventh and one more in the ninth, but Liberty (4-4) squeezed out a 9-7 win.
SCORE:
R H E
LWU 7 5 0
LIB 9 7 3
Top Performers:
Drayven Kowalski: 1-3, 2 R, RBI, HR, BB
Michael Dolberry: 2-4, 2 R, 2 RBI
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Both sides used the long ball to get on the board early in the game, but it was the bottom of the Lancer lineup that keyed a late run that ultimately came up just short. Longwood put the tying run on base in the ninth after trailing by as much as six runs, but Liberty escaped the jam.
Drayven Kowalski and
Michael Dolberry combined to score four runs to go with three hits and three RBI as the Lancers scored six of their seven runs in the fifth inning or later.
Kowalski cranked a solo homer in the fifth, and Dolberry had base hits to start or extend rallies in both the seventh and ninth innings.
With Longwood down 8-2 in the seventh, Dolberry plated a pair with a two-run single, and
Hayden Harris scored him with an RBI double one batter later. Harris scored on an error on
Eliot Dix's at bat to cut the lead to 8-6.
The Flames added a run in the eighth, but again, Longwood rallied with base runners in the ninth.
Gregory Ryan trimmed the lead to 9-7 with an RBI single, and he represented the tying run at first. However, the Flames wiggled out of the trouble.
Garrett Gainey (2-0) earned the win after pitching the first six innings for the Flames. Jeremy Beamon got the save after coming on in relief in the ninth.
Cole Taylor (0-2) took the loss for Longwood. He pitched into the fifth. He walked four and hit four batters while giving up six runs.
WHAT THEY SAID:
"Our guys played hard tonight," said Head Coach
Chad Oxendine. "We must build off of this energy and continue to get better. We took some really good swings tonight! If we eliminate the free bases, we are right there in the game."
ADDITIONAL NOTES:
Kowalski and
Drew Camp became the seventh and eighth Lancers to hit homers for Longwood this season.
Camp hit his home run in the second inning, his first home run as a Lancer.
It was the fourth multi-homer game for the Lancers this season.
Eliot Dix had a hit for a sixth-straight game, the longest current hitting streak for the Lancers.
UP NEXT:
Longwood stays on the road with a trip to Bethune-Cookman in Daytona Beach, Florida this weekend. The Lancers will play a three-game series from Friday-Sunday, March 3-5, as part of a seven game road swing.
#GoWood #HorsePower
