SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Eighth and ninth inning rallies came up just short for Longwood baseball on Friday at USC Upstate. The Lancers (13-22, 4-8 Big South) fell 5-4 to the Spartans (22-11, 8-1 Big South) to wrap up a three-game series that was impacted by weather.
 
SCORE:
 
               R             H            E
LWU      4             11           1
USCU     5             6             3
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
 
The day started with the game shifting back more than three hours due to inclement weather, but, much like game two in the series, the game was a tight affair throughout the afternoon. The Lancers outhit USC Upstate, but Upstate's came clustered at the right time for maximum impact.
 
Upstate took advantage of Longwood's lone error in the first to score two runs, but the Lances got on the board in the second. Drew Camp roped an RBI double down the line to cut the lead to 2-1.
 
Longwood starting pitcher Ryan Miller then posted four straight scoreless innings for the Lancers, but his counterpart, Henry Proger, did the same. The two pitchers each went 5.2 innings.
 
Upstate finally created some separation in the sixth with a trio of runs to extend the lead to 5-1, but, as they have throughout the season, the Lancers refused to go away quietly.
 
In the eighth inning, Dylan Wilkinson and Eliot Dix hit back-to-back doubles, and Gregory Ryan, Jr. scored one with a sacrifice fly to center field. Luis DeLeon scored the other with an RBI single that trimmed the deficit to 5-3. Longwood had the tying run on base with two outs, but a good defensive play by USC Upstate escaped the inning.
 
The Lancers again put the tying run on base in the ninth. With runners on second and third and one out, Eliot Dix hit a sacrifice fly to centerfield to score one, making it 5-4. However, Upstate's closer, Jake Cubbler, struck out the final batter to preserve the win and earn the save.
 
Proger (5-3) earned the win for USC Upstate while Miller (2-4) took the loss for the Lancers. For Cubbler, it was his fourth save of the season and second of the series.
 
WHAT THEY SAID:
 
"I'm very proud of the way we responded today," said Longwood Head Coach Chad Oxendine. "We never game up and continued to fight. We have to continue to keep that mindset and approach as we go forward."
 
ADDITIONAL NOTES:
 
The Lancers had 11 hits to Upstate's six, but Longwood left seven runners on base while the Spartans left only three.
 
Dominick D'Ercole tossed 1.1 scoreless relief innings for Longwood after coming on in the bottom of the sixth. He retired four straight batters.
 
Andrew Melnyk added a scoreless bottom of the eighth.
 
Dix had a two-hit game for the Lancers, and he was one of four players with an RBI.
 
DeLeon was the other Lancer with a two-hit day. He also drove in a run.
 
Camp and Ryan were the other two Lancers with RBI on the day.
 
UP NEXT:
 
Longwood wraps up a five-game road swing on Tuesday with a trip to George Mason. First pitch is set for 3 p.m. at Spuhler Field in Fairfax.
 
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