The Longwood baseball squad is at a critical point in their season with 14 games to play. This week they host James Madison on Wednesday, a team they beat in a matchup during the first week of the season, and host a three-game series this weekend against a Gardner-Webb team that is 7-5 in the Big South Conference. Despite the Lancers’ (17-20, 7-8 Big South) somewhat shaky record and placement in the middle of the standings, the team’s goal is still the same.
“Our goal has stayed the same the whole year: make the Big South Tournament and make some noise. When you make the tournament, anything can happen,” said Assistant Coach Brian McCullough.
Longwood, known as being one of the top hitting schools in the country in past years, has struggled somewhat
this season. The Lancers' top nine hitters have a combined batting average of .268 compared to last year’s team average at the end of the season, .298. McCullough contributes most of the team's hitting struggles to this year’s schedule, which in the past he called the toughest schedule ever played at Longwood.
“We are facing better velocity, better pitchers, more experienced pitchers and teams that have deeper rotations,” said McCullough. “In conference baseball you are getting a team's three best arms every weekend, and eventually it makes an impact.
“We played a Top 25 team in Virginia Tech, a top Southern Conference team in Western Carolina, a Top 25 team in Campbell, a perennial power in the SEC in Tennessee and a really good Canisius team which I think has prepared us for the next step in our season,” he later added.
As far as stats go, McCullough and
the rest of the coaching staff don’t mind slightly low averages, as long as players are driving in runs, and producing for the team.
“We put more emphasis on production. The RBI, home runs and runs scored are our biggest indicator of how our players are swinging the bat,” he said.
This past weekend, the Lancers dropped two of three games in a tough series against the number 25 team in the country, Campbell. After winning the first game 3-2, Longwood fell to the Camels in the last two games 1-0, and 5-2. Despite excellent pitching, the bats never quite got going.
“We left runners on base and didn’t execute in pressure situations,” McCullough said. “When Kyler Morgan and Brandon Vick give us the effort they have been giving us, we are in every ball game and have a chance to win, we just have to take advantage of the opportunities.”
Vick, especially, has been on fire as
of late. He is 3-1 in his last five starts with one no-decision, giving up only four earned runs with a 1.03 ERA over that span.
“His five Big South starts have been huge for us. He has thrived on intensity and importance of big games. I think he will continue to rise to the occasion,” said McCullough. “He is only a sophomore, but he is definitely pitching at a higher level right now.”
With Vick and Morgan throwing the ball great, the Lancers should be in position to win close games throughout the rest of season.
“We have to keep coming out with the same intensity that we have over the last five series,” said McCullough. “We still have a lot of unfinished work to do to reach our goal”
This Saturday is Buddy Bolding Day, a day to commemorate the career and life achievement of the team’s longtime head coach Charles “Buddy” Bolding.
