Longwood (7-11, 0-3) overtook Norfolk State’s (4-8, 1-2) early 2-0 lead by the third inning after scoring five runs in the next two, giving them the momentum needed to win their first home game, 13-7, on Tuesday.
“We stayed with our game plan. Offensively we had an outstanding game tonight—the offense really led us. We struggled a little bit in the middle innings out of the bull pen, but we stuck with our approach and continued to put runs on and never take our foot off the gas,” said Head Coach Ryan Mau.
The fourth inning saw the Lancers tie the game after a combination of multiple walks, a wild pitch and a throwing error that sent junior center fielder Colton Konvicka and junior outfielder Kyri Washington home.
“I thought we really battled back in early, in the fourth inning we really came alive,” said sophomore catcher Mac McCafferty. “We got guys on, that’s really what the coach has been coaching to us, get guys on, get them over, and get them in.”
Following another scoreless batting round for Norfolk, a hit from McCafferty to right field that allowed sophomore infielder Brandon Harvell to cross the plate; McCafferty followed soon after, scoring after Konvicka hit a single and a fielding error went against Norfolk State. A third run came from Konvicka after senior utility Travis Biddix singled, putting Longwood ahead 5-2.
A home run smashed by Norfolk State’s sophomore first baseman Robert Depp broke the teams dry spell, closing Longwood’s lead to one, was shortly overshadowed by a seven run sixth inning for the Lancers.
Konvicka led the team in runs, scoring three after four at-bats; McCafferty and Washington trailed him with two runs and three at-bats each.
“[Colton Konvicka’s] a table-setter for us, he’s relentless on the bases and he really causes tons of pressure for the defense and was able to score multiple times for us today,” said Mau. “Mac [McCafferty] did a great job behind the plate as always, came up with a couple key hits, dropped in two, [and] scored a couple runs for us in some big innings.”
Norfolk State freshman outfielder Syeed Mahdi scored on both of his at-bats, leading his team in runs.
Longwood freshmen pitchers Michael Catlin and Zach Potojecki combined for seven strikeouts across five innings; Catlin allowed zero hits to Potojecki’s two and a run.
This matchup followed a streak of 17 away games for the Lancers, the most recent taking place against Campbell University this past weekend where the Lancers faced three back-to-back losses.
This was the second time Longwood has faced Norfolk State, the first-time also ended in a win for the Lancers, 9-2.
“Time to get back on the bus, this is the first time we’ve had back-to-back mid-weekers so we’ll see what we have in store for tomorrow,” said Mau.
Longwood will travel to Greensboro, North Carolina to face North Carolina A&T (2-12, 0-5) tonight at 6 p.m. EST. Followed by a three-game series against Charleston Southern (10-8, 2-1) at home this weekend from Mar. 20 to Mar. 22.
