Richmond (9-4) used late runs to win game one and pull away in game two in a tight series. Neither side led by more than three runs at the end of an inning until the eighth inning of game two.
For the Spiders, Dominic Toso had the hot bat all day. Toso posted a five-hit day, going 3-4 in game one with two RBI. The Spider second baseman added two more hits in game two while scoring three times and driving in two more runs.
Despite some tough bounces for Longwood (8-13, 2-6 Big South), the Lancers never stopped battling. The offense drew 11 walks between the two games, and nearly half of their hits went for extra bases to drive in runs. Hayden Harris, Cullan Wadsworth and Jack Schnell all hit home runs on the day, while James Nelson and Eliot Dix each had an RBI double.
Both sides saw excellent bullpen performances, with Longwood seeing shutdown relief efforts from Andrew Potojecki and Logan Berrier in game one while Lloyd Dominguez and Michael Tolson put together strong outings in game two.
Richmond's bullpen matched Longwood though, with Alden Mathes taking care of the finale five outs in game one. Antonio Balducci and Jacob Marcus combined for five innings of one-hit ball in game two for the Spiders.
"There is a ton to take away from today for us," said Longwood head coach Ryan Mau. "I like our team's fight, and now we just need to find ways to put it all together."
Game 1: Richmond 5, Longwood 4
The first game went right to the wire, with Richmond winning via a walk-off in the ninth inning in a back and forth game. The Spiders used a single, a walk, an RBI groundout and a pair of balks, the second coming with two outs and the game-winning runner at third, to win.
Base runners were few and far between for both sides on the day, with Richmond's pitching staff limiting the Lancers to six base hits, and Longwood's staff only surrendering seven. The Lancers (8-12, 2-6 Big South) also only walked two batters.
For Richmond, Dominic Toso was a constant threat on offense, and was the only player to have multiple hits for the Spiders. He set the table in the ninth with the leadoff single, hit his first homer of the season and went 3-4 with two RBI and a run in the game.
Meanwhile, Longwood's offense may have only had six hits, but they were timely swings that led to extra bases and runs. Harris clocked his first collegiate homer as part of his fourth multi-hit game in an impressive freshman campaign for Longwood. Wadsworth cranked a two-run bomb that tied the score late, and Dix added an RBI double in the eighth inning.
"Game one was very competitive, and we fought to put ourselves in the position we wanted at the end," said Mau. "We just didn't hang on, and those are late game situations we need to learn from."
At the start of the game, Harris led off with a solo homer over the left field wall, but Richmond answered in the bottom of the first with an RBI groundout by Drew Blakeley that made it 1-1.
Toso gave the Spiders a two-run lead in the fourth with a two-run shot, but the Lancer pitching staff limited the damage and kept the score there.
Lancer starter Andrew Melnyk promptly struck out the final two batters of the fourth inning before handing the ball to Andrew Potojecki. Melnyk went four innings while striking out five, giving up three runs on four hits without a walk. Potojecki tossed three scoreless frames, striking out two against only one walk and two hits. Logan Berrier pitched a perfect eighth inning with a strikeout.
Wadsworth swatted his two-run home run to right field in the seventh that tied the score, and Dix roped his RBI double that scored Harris from first in the eighth to give Longwood the 4-3 lead.
Alden Mathes (1-0) earned the win for Richmond after coming on in relief in the eighth and finishing off the game. He threw 1.2 scoreless innings while striking out three to two walks and one hit.
For Longwood, Dillon Champagne (0-1) took the loss. He surrendered two runs on a walk and a hit in 0.2 innings.
Game 2: Richmond 10, Longwood 5
In the second game, the two offenses came out swinging and put up a combined 11 runs through four innings, with Richmond holding a 6-5 lead.
The Spiders had five players have multi-hit games, with Wyatt Ulrich and Chris Rinaldi each notching three base knocks while Toso, Johnny Hipsman and Jordan Schulefand added two hits apiece.
For Longwood, hits were difficult to come by, but the Lancers supplemented hits by drawing seven walks and getting hit by two pitches. James Nelson picked up his first collegiate RBI while also going 1-2 at the plate with a double. He reached base three times after being hit by a pitch and drawing a walk.
"Game two, we didn't get the start we needed, but offensively there were some really good at bats to pull us within one," Mau said. "Our bullpen did a good job keeping us around it. We continued to take some really good swings, but unfortunately they were right at defenders."
Nelson's RBI double, coupled with an RBI single by Drayven Kowalski, put the Lancers on the board in the second inning. Schnell's solo home run in the third cut the lead to 5-3.
After Richmond extended the lead back to three runs in the fourth, Dix was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded and Hunter Gilliam drew a walk one batter later to trim the lead to one.
From that point on, both bullpens took over through the middle innings. For Longwood, Dominguez and Tolson combined for 4.0 innings of one-run ball. Tolson went 1.1 innings, giving up one run on one hit with a strikeout before giving way to Dominguez. The big left-hander tossed 2.2 scoreless, hitless innings while striking out two and walking three.
For Richmond, Jacob Marcus came on in relief to start the fifth inning and closed it out from there. Marcus only gave up one hit while striking out five and earned the save in the process, his first of the season. Antonio Balducci (1-0) received credit for the win for Richmond. Balducci finished out the fourth, throwing 0.2 innings while walking one and striking out two.
Colton Hutt (1-2) took the loss for Longwood. The Spiders punched out seven hits in two innings off the right-hander, leading to five runs, four earned. He walked two and struck out two.
Longwood heads to Gardner-Webb to open the month of April next weekend. The Lancers will play a three-game series in Boiling Springs, North Carolina on Thursday, April 1 and Friday, April 2. The two sides will play a doubleheader on Thursday beginning at 1 p.m. followed by a single game on Friday at 1 p.m.
#GoWood
https://longwoodlancers.com/news/2021/3/27/baseball-heartbreak-for-longwood-in-game-one-at-richmond.aspx
2021-03-27 23:26:15Z
CBMiaGh0dHBzOi8vbG9uZ3dvb2RsYW5jZXJzLmNvbS9uZXdzLzIwMjEvMy8yNy9iYXNlYmFsbC1oZWFydGJyZWFrLWZvci1sb25nd29vZC1pbi1nYW1lLW9uZS1hdC1yaWNobW9uZC5hc3B40gEA
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Richmond Takes Down Longwood In Doubleheader - Longwood Athletics"
Post a Comment