FARMVILLE, Va. – Jaxon Lloyd and Braden Gebhardt went back and forth in a pitcher's duel on Friday to open a four-game series between Longwood and Youngstown State.

Neither one earned the win, but the two aces combined for 20 strikeouts, with Lloyd fanning eight while Gebhardt struck out 12.

Longwood (7-2) plated a run in the eighth, but Youngstown State (1-7) answered with two runs in the top of the ninth to edge Longwood 2-1 at Buddy Bolding Stadium.
 
                                    R              H              E
YSU                            2               7               1
LWU                            1               6               1
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:

Lloyd set Youngstown State down in order twice in his 6.1 innings of work, and Gebhardt matched him pitch for pitch.

The two pitchers also combined to surrender only three walks between them in their 13.1 innings of work.

Finally, Longwood broke the seal on the scoring in the eighth inning. The Lancers loaded the bases, and Ben Pulliam drew a walk for a 1-0 lead in the tense contest.

Youngstown State answered back at the top of the ninth with an RBI double by Teddy Ruffner, and he scored on an RBI single by Kendal Spencer to give the Penguins a 2-1 lead.

Jackson Nash (1-1) took the loss after coming in with one out in the seventh inning, while Sloan Ulrich (1-0) got the win for the Penguins after stepping onto the mound in the middle of the eighth.


WHAT THEY SAID:

"First of all, credit to their pitching staff. We knew coming into this, it was going to be a tough test. I think the zone was a little bit big today, which didn't help us, but at the end of the day, there are swing moments in games where it can go a certain way, and I thought we weren't able to capitalize", said Head Coach Ray Noe. "We got out of what we do really well, which is controlling the zone. We had some chases up, but they [YSU] did a really good job in those swing moments. They found a way to get on base, hit the ball hard, and we can't make the play at third [in the ninth inning]."

"I was disappointed in myself in the eighth, thought we could have done a better job of tinkering with our defense there but we're always gonna always play aggressive", said Noe. "I told the kids we'll live and die on aggression, and it didn't work in our favor today, but I'm excited to see their response."

"They're awesome', said Noe about today's pitching staff. "They're top 10 in the country for a reason. Whenever you have a 2-1 game on Friday night, that's about as good as you can ask for. Lloyd was fantastic; he and [Braden] Gebhardt went toe-to-toe, and it was awesome to watch and be a part of. Nash, I thought was really good, but as I said, sometimes it just doesn't go in our favor."
 
UP NEXT:

The Lancers are right back at it with a doubleheader tomorrow, Saturday, Feb 28, with the second game of the series slated to start at 12 p.m.
 
#GoWood | #HorsePower