JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – Longwood baseball took on a high-octane East Tennessee State in the final non-conference weekend series of the season on Friday.
Tthe Bucs (14-4), who came in 30
th in the RPI rankings nationally, used big timely innings to take down the young Lancers (5-14) 12-1 in seven innings in game one and 14-4 in eight innings in game two. The Lancers started will in that second game, but a late surge for ETSU was the difference maker.
For Longwood,
James Nelson drove in runs in both games for the Lancers. In game two, Tre Keels hit a solo homer, and
Myles Webb also had multiple base hits in the second game.
However, a combined seven RBI from Cooper Torres and JD Yakubinis in game one, and home runs from Cody Miller and Grant Gallagher in game two provided offense for ETSU late in the game.
"ETSU is a really good ball club, and you saw that tonight with the results," said Longwood Head Coach
Ray Noe. "We gave them our best punch there in game two with an unbelievable start by
Ried Dittner. He did a great job of keeping them off balance and overpowered them through five innings of work. So proud of him
– he's been really good all year, and I think we might have found a new role for him today."
Game 1: ETSU 12, Longwood 1
The early innings were tight, as ETSU took a 1-0 lead but Longwood tied the game up in the top of the third. The Lancers loaded the bases, and Nelson hit a sacrifice fly to even the score at one.
ETSU answered with a big bottom of the third though, with Torres opening the scoring with a two-run single, and the dam burst. Six runs came home in the frame, and a four-run fourth made it 11-1 in an eyeblink.
Carter Fink (3-0) picked up the win for the home side. He struck out seven in five innings of work while giving up one run on four hits and a walk.
Ethan Plesser (0-1) took the loss. He pitched well for the first two innings in his first collegiate start, but he ran into trouble in the third.
Game 2: ETSU 14, Longwood 4
The Lancers had a great response to start the second game.
Longwood jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the top of the first. Keels led off the game with a solo home run, and Nelson drove home Webb, who had tripled, a few batters later.
The lead grew to 4-0 in the top of the fourth when
Jae'dan Carter poked a single up the middle to plate two.
Meanwhile,
Ried Dittner was sharp in his start, holding the potent ETSU offense at bay for 4.1 innings. He limited the Bucs to one hit and three walks while not surrendering a run and striking out four.
However, ETSU's offense found life in the sixth. Torres doubled in a run to start the scoring, and Gallagher homered, a three-run shot, to take a 5-4 lead.
Miller homered in both the seventh and eighth innings to help the Bucs extend the lead.
Brady Frederick (2-0) picked up the win after coming on in relief in the fourth inning. He went 3.2 scoreless frames with five strikeouts against one hit and one walk. Andrew Ronne entered with two on and no outs and pitched a scoreless eighth to earn the save, his second of the season.
Alek Elges (0-3) took the loss. He came on in the sixth and gave up five runs on four hits and a walk.
"We fell apart in the back end of the game yet again and are really searching for someone who wants the ball in those key innings," Noe said.
UP NEXT:
Longwood plays the third and final game of the series on Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. Guillermo Garcia, Jr. is scheduled to take the bump for the Lancers against the Michael Harpster.
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