DURHAM, N.C. – Longwood baseball gave a good accounting of themselves on the road against No. 10 Duke on Sunday afternoon. However, the Blue Devils (32-13) flexed their muscle late to take down the Lancers (19-28) 13-9. The two sides canceled the second game of a planned doubleheader due to inclement weather.
SCORE:
R H E
LWU 9 12 3
DUKE 13 11 2
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Longwood struck early and often. The Lancers scored in each of the four innings.
In the top of the first,
Luis DeLeon put Longwood on the board with a sacrifice fly. After an error scored a second run,
Tanner Thomas slammed an RBI double down the left field line for a 3-0 lead.
Drayven Kowalski singled in a run in the third, and DeLeon doubled home a run in the fourth. Longwood led 7-2 after three innings.
After Duke cut the lead to four,
Collin Hughes hammered a two-run double to right center field, and Longwood extended the lead to 9-3.
The Blue Devils rallied in the bottom of the eighth by batting around. Luke Storm capped the rally with a grand slam to take a 13-9 lead.
Owen Proksch earned the relief win for Duke. He struck out one in 0.2 innings of work after coming on in relief in the eighth inning.
Brenton Fisher took the loss for Longwood. He came on in relief in the eighth.
WHAT THEY SAID:
"Our guys really battled today at the plate," said Longwood Head Coach
Chad Oxendine. "They kept grinding and working to get their pitch and put a good swing on it. Duke has a great team. We've got to keep getting better and better as we go forward and keep our focus on the details."
ADDITIONAL NOTES:
Keondre Shelton,
Eliot Dix, Thomas, and Kowalski each had two hits.
DeLeon and Hughes each drove in two runs.
Eight Lancers had base hits.
Seven players scored a run.
For Longwood, it was the fourth ACC team they have played this season.
In addition, it was the fifth ranked team the Lancers had played.
UP NEXT:
Longwood takes on VCU on Tuesday at 6 p.m. for Salute To Heroes night, sponsored by Haley Auto Mall. The game will be aired on ESPN+.
#GoWood #HorsePower
