Jawan McAllister goes through his practice routine before taking batting practice.
In the midst of a six-game skid, Longwood baseball hits the road for a weekend conference series at UNC Asheville beginning on March 29. The Lancers, who currently have a record of 7-17 and are 2-4 in Big South conference play, suffered three consecutive losses on their diamond to Winthrop last weekend, then fell to the University of Virginia by a score of 13-4 in a mid-week contest at Disharoon Park.
Their season became difficult from the beginning after the injury of the team’s projected ace pitcher senior Cody Boydstun and having been without junior shortstop Antwaun Tucker for the last three weeks after suffering a foot injury.
Head coach Ryan Mau said the lack of squad depth is having an effect on the team's early struggles.
“What we’re going to need are some big performances from our starting pitching. (Andrew) Melnyk, who is a freshman, Tyler Morgan, who has given us some great performances in the last couple of weeks, and we’re going have to fight and piece together that last game and try to pull one out on Sunday as well,” said Mau.
According to Mau, Tucker is likely to return in the weekend's matchup, calling it a "huge bonus" if the team can ease him back into playing.
Despite the impactful injuries, freshman infielder Hunter Gilliam has taken on the role of being a difference-maker early on in the season. The Farmville native currently sits second on the squad with a batting average of .314 and leads the team in total hits with 27.
“He’s a hard-working kid that always wants to swing. He’s always looking for extra help, he’s always looking for extra work, and does a great job studying the video that we have on opposing pitchers and always has a game plan,” said Mau.
Gilliam, who didn't take long to fight for a starting spot, is looking to continue his momentum against UNC Asheville.
“Our goal going into this weekend is to go down there and go for a sweep. This is going to be a huge weekend for a lot of our guys to get hot," Gilliam said. "I feel like we can use this weekend to carry over to VCU next week and for the rest of the weekends coming up."
UNC Asheville comes into the match up with a record of 8-15, going an even 3-3 in Big South play thus far. The Bulldogs enter on a 3-game losing streak, leaving the two teams to search for a way to get out of a mid-season slump.
The Lancers will look to repeat last year's effort as they swept the Bulldogs in a three-game set at Buddy Bolding Stadium and are working to escape a midseason slump before the final stretch of the season.
