FARMVILLE, Va. – It took a little bit of perseverance, but Longwood baseball closed out a three-game sweep against Radford on Saturday afternoon at Buddy Bolding Stadium.
The seniors, along with a couple of precocious freshman, led the way through 12 innings of baseball for the Lancers (14-38, 8-16 Big South). Game two was suspended in the bottom of the sixth due to rain, but the Lancers didn't balk at the change and instead muscled their way to a 15-8 win over the Highlanders (27-26, 13-11 Big South).
Then, in the series finale, the Lancers plated four runs in the first four innings, and the pitching staff made sure it stuck for a 4-2 win that also moved Longwood up into a tie for seventh in the league standings.
"What a way to end the season," said Longwood Head Coach
Ray Noe. "I'm happy for the guys, especially the nine seniors. This season definitely had its ups and downs, but like I've said all year, our guys don't quit, and they keep showing up every single day."
Game Two: Longwood 15, Radford 8
The second game, which started on Friday afternoon, was a slugfest between the two teams.
Longwood's offense racked up 15 runs on 15 hits, and the team was explosive with four innings of at least three runs.
Myles Webb led the team with four RBI, but he was one of five players with at least two RBI in the game.
Mikey Urbaniak and
Mac Tufts had three RBI each, and
Jayson Nash and
James Nelson drove in two runs apiece as well.
Radford struck first with two runs in the first three innings, but the Lancer bats exploded in the third. Webb demolished a home run to left field that gave the Lancers a 3-2 lead, and then Nelson hammered a two-run blast to right field two batters later to make it 5-2.
While Radford answered with a run in the fourth, Longwood responded with a two-run double by Urbaniak and an RBI single by Webb.
Radford trimmed it again in the fifth, and then the game was suspended in the sixth with runners on first and second and two outs and a 2-1 count at the plate to Tufts.
When the game resumed, Tufts hit a home run down the left field line that bumped the lead to 11-5 and set the tone for Saturday.
Radford answered again with a three-run home run from Mason Self, but Longwood added four more runs in the final two innings. Urbaniak drove in one, and
Logan Janney and Nash poked in the other two for a 15-8 advantage.
Meanwhile, the Lancer bullpen was solid in relief.
Joe Castrichini gave Longwood a good start, going 4.2 innings while giving up seven hits and four walks that led to five runs against two strikeouts before running out of gas in the fifth.
Wyatt Bunch (2-3) came on and tossed 1.1 scoreless frames of relief to get the win.
Ried Dittner was also sharp enough to wrap the game up with two scoreless frames to close the game out.
"The suspended game was full of fireworks with Mac's home run and their response in the next half," said Noe. "We planned Dittner to get the ball there in the eighth and ninth, and it worked perfectly. Ried is a guy we've relied on all year, and he yet again secured the win for us in game two."
Matthew Lefevers (1-2) took the loss. He gave up five unearned runs in three innings on five hits and two walks against one strikeout.
Game Three: Longwood 4, Radford 2
The series finale was tight throughout the contest.
Alek Elges (1-5) put together his best performance as a Lancer on the mound, tossing 6.2 innings. The senior righty danced around nine hits, thanks to a pair of double plays from his defense, while only giving up two runs. He walked one and struck out three to earn his first win as a Lancer.
Kyle Miller,
Isaiah Brewington and
Wyatt Bunch combined to post 2.1 scoreless relief innings to wrap the game up, with Bunch recording the final out to get his second save of the season.
"Elges gave us his best start of the year today in game three," Noe said. "Absolutely dominating performance. He kept Radford off balance with a heavy mix of pitches. We did enough offensively to give us the lead, but it was all about the pitching staff. Miller, Brewington and Bunch were fantastic in relief and were able to close the door to secure the sweep."
Meanwhile, the offense scratched across four runs early.
Urbaniak led off with a solo home run, and he doubled in another run in the third inning after
Matt Stevenson doubled. The freshman catcher added another RBI single in the fourth for a second-straight three-hit effort.
Casey Gibbs added a sacrifice fly in the fourth as well to give Longwood a 4-1 lead at the time.
While Radford threatened repeatedly, the Lancer defense helped the pitching staff evade the big hit, and Longwood forced Radford to leave nine runners on base.
For the series, the Highlanders left 29 men on the basepaths as the Lancers executed in big spots time after time.
UP NEXT:
The season is complete for Longwood. The Lancers will return to the diamond in 2026 to chase the Big South Championship.
#GoWood #HorsePower
