FARMVILLE, Va. – Longwood closed opening weekend with a sweep of NJIT in a wild day of baseball that featured 22 innings in a doubleheader.
The Lancers (3-0) outlasted NJIT (0-3) in a thrilling 3-2 win in 15 innings on Jon Howard's walk-off winner to start the day. In the second game, Tre Keels and the Lancer offense cruised to a 15-0 win after Keels swatted a grand slam in the first inning.
Game 1: Longwood 3, NJIT 2 (15 Innings)
Jae'dan Carter wasted no time by swatting a home run on the first pitch of the bottom of the first inning for a 1-0 lead.
Tre Keels followed up with a run on a wild pitch in the second, but the Highlanders tied it up when Ty Sallie and Brody Levin drove in runs in the fifth and sixth to tie the game.
From there, it turned into a pitchers' duel. Both sides didn't allow a run for the next eight innings.
JR Fordham and Cam Freeman were sharp in relief for the Lancers, and Jackson Nash was sensational in his Longwood debut. The junior fanned nine in four innings and escaped a bases-loaded jam in the top of the 15th.
That set the stage for the bottom half of the inning. Mac Tufts led off with a single, and Howard, who has been battling an injury, blasted an RBI single down the line to walk-off NJIT.
Game 2: Longwood 15, NJIT 0
While pitchers dominated game one, the Lancer offense made short work of game two. Keels clobbered his grand slam in the first as part of an eight-run inning, and Longwood never looked back. Brogan Jones, Ben Pulliam and Jayson Nash also added RBI base knocks in the frame.
In the second inning, Lucas Johnson added a two-run single, and Jones cranked his second homer of the weekend as Longwood extended the lead to 14-0.
Meanwhile, Brady Hoover was cruising on the mound for Longwood. The freshman righty struck out six in six scoreless innings while only giving up four hits without a walk. He earned the win in his college debut.
WHAT THEY SAID:
"In game one, we just gave Jae'dan [Carter] the green light to go and let it rip," said Longwood Head Coach Ray Noe. "It started the day off on the right foot, and Brogan's [Jones] been really good with the three-run blasts.
"Jon [Howard] was telling me in the sixth inning that if we had an opportunity with a runner on second, he'd be ok to go", said Noe when asked about Howard's first D1 at bat hit that won game one.
"Nash, he's a different beast. Today, he had a different look in his eye. I'd not seen that before, but the pitching staff all weekend was absolutely fantastic", said Noe about the junior's Longwood debut in extra innings. "You're talking using nine arms in almost 31 innings, I'm really, really excited for this group and hopefully continuing to pitch the way that we did this weekend."
Additional Notes:
Up Next:
Tomorrow's series closer has been cancelled due to the forecasted weather. The Lancers will travel to Chapel Hill to compete against UNC on Feb 18 at 4 p.m.
#GoWood | #HorsePower
