The Longwood University Lancers club baseball team (6-2 overall, 5-1 conference) is looking to get back to the World Series. More specifically, the team is looking for a repeat trip to the National Club Baseball Association (NCBA) Division II World Series. It is the eight-team, double-elimination post season tournament for all DII club baseball teams.
The Lancers are currently ranked sixth in the nation, according to the AdvoCare Top 15. The team started out the year ranked sixth and moved up as high as fourth this season.
Being ranked this high does not surprise the team. Club baseball president and Longwood sophomore Quaid Anderson said, "We definitely look at it and say, 'Guys this is how good they think we are. Let's prove them right or prove them wrong that we should be higher.'"
The Lancers finished fourth in the final, non-sponsored top 15 poll following the team's third place finish in last season's NCBA World Series. It was the team's first trip to the tournament in only its third season of existence. The Lancers lost twice in the tournament to Wyoming, the last of which was a 6-1 defeat in the semifinals.
Anderson said, "Just getting to the World Series, I kind of saw that the competition level just grew." The Lancers had to work hard against that competition to even make the NCBA World Series. The team fell into the loser's bracket of the District III Regional tournament after losing to William and Mary. The Lancers then rebounded from the loss by beating the Tribe twice in the same day to advance to the World Series.
Club baseball vice president and Longwood junior Tyler Scrima said, "What we overcame in the regional tournament last year was probably the most impressive [baseball] performance I've seen out of any athletic team."
For this season, the Lancers face another uphill task. The Lancers began the season strong by winning two of their first three games against VCU (5-4 overall, 5-4 conference) by outscoring the Rams 22-7. The team then won their next four games by a combined total of 33-4.
The Lancers currently sit behind the Radford club team (8-1 overall, 8-1 conference) in the District III West standings after splitting a two game series last weekend with the Virginia Marlins. According to Anderson, the team must win at least five of their next six conference games in order to make the regional tournament.
Anderson said, "It is time to work harder and prepare for some games that are actually meaningful." The upcoming conference foes for the Lancers are Radford and Richmond. The Lancers will first face the Highlanders in a three game set the weekend of April 14. The following weekend, the Lancers will take on Richmond (3-3 overall, 3-3 conference).
Radford is a team Longwood did not face last season. The Highlanders forfeited the game before it could be played. Nevertheless, Anderson thinks that the three games against Radford are going to be "some very good games."
Sweeping Richmond and Radford would essentially make the Lancers the winners of District III West. If the Lancers fail, there are a couple of scenarios that could play out. The Lancers could still tie the Highlanders for conference record. In that case, the tie breaker for out-of-conference record will decide the winner. The Lancers have three out-of-conference games left in the season. The team will face Thomas Nelson Community College this weekend for two games and then face them again at the end of May. If the Lancers are unable to secure the conference, the team will need an at-large bid to advance to the regional tournament. The conference tournament is comprised of the three champions of the District III West, North and East. The at-large bid is selected by the NCBA.
According to Anderson, the team would not find out until the last week in April. Scrima also understands the seriousness of the scenario based off of last year's experience. "Self discipline has to be a little bit more on-edge and a little bit more serious than it was at the start of the season ... We realize that it is not something that is an impossible task."
