FARMVILLE, VA. - Longwood used a big eighth inning to power past UNC Asheville in the series opener Friday night. Hayen Harris roped a single into left field to plate Noah Campanelli to give the Lancers (19-23) the series opening win over the Bulldogs (18-23) late Friday night. Hayden Harris and Noah Campanelli accounted for the five Lancer hits, while Sean Gibbons threw six scoreless innings where he struck out seven. 

TOP PERFORMERS:
Hayden Harris: 3-4, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 1 R, 2 SO
Noah Campanelli: 2-3, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 2 R, 1 SB
Sean Gibbons: 6.0 IP, 0 ER, 7 SO, W

HOW IT HAPPENED:
Longwood struck first in the bottom of the first inning, when Noah Campanelli hit his second home run of the season. 

Andrew Potojecki got the ball for the Lancers, and was effective in his 3.0 innings. He struck out four and worked out of multiple jams to keep the Bulldogs off the board.

UNC Asheville tied the game in the top half of the fourth at one on a fielders choice.

From there the two teams had a pitching duel. The Bulldogs starter, Nick Bruno, went 6.0 innings, fanning 10 Lancers, and kept the bats at bay throughout his outing. Gibbons came on in relief, and was dominant for the second straight week. 

After seven both teams were still knotted at 1. A quick top half of the eighth got the Lancer bats to the plate, and similar to a lot of eighth innings this year, the bats delivered. 

Noah Campanelli lead the inning off with a four pitch walk, before stealing second, and advancing to third on a wild pitch. The stage was then set for senior Hayden Harris, and he delivered. Harris hit a ball into left field to plate Campanelli giving the Lancers a 2-1 lead. Longwood added two more runs in the inning on a fielding error to give them a 4-1 lead heading to the ninth.

Gibbons came back onto the field, mowing down three straight batter to give the Lancers the game one win.

Sean Gibbons (2-1) picked up his second straight win as Brett Johnson (3-3) earned the loss for the Bulldogs. 

WHAT THEY SAID:
"Sean was great for us tonight. He worked his pitches well, and really kept them off balance. He gave us a chance to win." Head coach Chad Oxendine stated. "Hayden and Noah have been big for us all year. I am happy for our guys, taking game one is big, but we have to bounce back and be ready to go tomorrow."

NOTABLES:
Sean Gibbons has struck out seven batters in consecutive games. 
Hayden Harris has recorded three or more hits games in back to back weeks.

UP NEXT:
Longwood and UNC Asheville continue their series on Saturday at 2 p.m.