CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Longwood baseball was in the mix all game with the No. 10/9 North Carolina team in an early-season road test.
The Lancers (3-1) outhit the Tar Heels (5-0) nine to eight in the game, but four runs in the first inning helped UNC win 5-3.
Mac Tufts and Tre Keels had multi-hit games for the Lancers.
R H E
LWU 3 9 3
UNC 5 8 1
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The Lancers started off by giving up four runs in a total of three hits, but the defense found a way to minimize the damage from there on.
The bullpen responded by only allowing one unearned run on six hits in eight innings.
Jackson Garland,
Wyatt Bunch,
Drew Siegner, and
JR Fordham struck out five in 8.1 innings of work.
However, UNC scored four runs in the first behind two-run singles by Michael Maginnis and Colin Hynek.
Longwood got on the board when Keels stole third and scooted home on an error in the top of the second.
In the top of the fifth, Tufts drove home
Brogan Jones with a two-out, RBI single through the right side.
Longwood cut it to 4-3 at the top of the seventh when
Lucas Johnson knocked home
Max Lawson.
After UNC went back up by two, Longwood loaded the bases in the top of the ninth, but the Tar Heels escaped.
Walker McDuffie (1-0) earned the win for North Carolina with 1.1 innings of relief work. He struck out two. Matthew Matthijs picked up the save in the ninth.
Jake Chadwell (0-1) took the loss for Longwood.
WHAT THEY SAID:
"I was happy with the way we competed tonight", said Head Coach
Ray Noe. "Got punched in the mouth early but stayed in it and continued to grind out ABs and make big pitches in leverage situations. This group can compete with anyone in the country, and they showed that tonight."
UP NEXT:
Longwood returns to Buddy Bolding Stadium for a weekend series against UMBC, starting on Friday, Feb 20, with first pitch scheduled for 3 p.m.
#GoWood | #HorsePower
