University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Friday, May 7
Asheville, NC
2:00 PM
UNC Asheville
14-25, 0
11
vs
10
Longwood
14-26, 0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Longwood
1
0
0
0
0
0
7
2
0
10
14
2
UNC Asheville
0
1
1
4
0
1
3
0
1
11
10
0
Photo by: Mark Godin
Bulldogs Sweep Longwood in Friday’s Doubleheader
05.07.2021 | Baseball
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – The UNC Asheville baseball team swept a doubleheader against Longwood Friday at Greenwood Field. Game one went to the Bulldogs by a score of 11-10 before finishing off the sweep, 3-2. With Friday's victories, the 2021 Bulldogs break the program record for the most Big South wins in a single season with 14.
Game 1 Recap – There was no shortage of offense in game one as a total of 21 runs were scored. After withstanding a pair of rallies from Longwood, the Bulldogs persevered to score the winning run on a sacrifice fly from Brandon Lankford in the bottom of the ninth to finish off the 11-10 victory.
Longwood would strike first with three singles off Asheville starter Justin Honeycutt in the first inning. Honeycutt, however, settled down after that finishing his outing with 5.1 innings pitched, one run on four hits and struck out six.
Thanks to Honeycutt settling down after a rocky first inning, the Bulldog offense was able to answer. Asheville scored single runs in the second and third before erupting for four runs in the fourth to chase Longwood's starter from the contest.
Things were looking good for Asheville as it held a 7-1 lead going to the seventh inning. The Lancer offense, which was quiet since the first, exploded for seven runs in the seventh to pull in front, 8-7. Longwood and Asheville continued to score runs off the others' bullpen and the score was knotted at 10 headed to the ninth.
Dominic Freeberger, who entered the game in the eighth, held the Lancers scoreless in the top half of the inning. In Asheville's ninth, Wade Chandler and Freeberger drew back-to-back walks to start the inning. A wild pitch moved both runners into scoring position with nobody out. Lankford came through with a sacrifice fly to score Chandler to give Asheville an 11-10 walk-off victory.
The Bulldogs had plenty of action on the base paths in the game one victory as 10 different players reached at least once. Chandler and Grayson Preslar did a great job acting as double leadoff men as they combined to score five of the team's 10 runs. Freeberger, who was also the winning pitcher, Lankford, Ty Kaufman, and Sebastian Dunn all drove in two runs each to fuel the 11-run outburst by the Bulldog offense.
Game 2 Recap – The second game of the day was much more of a pitchers' duel. Jacob Edwards turned in arguably his best start of the season allowing one run (not earned) on one hit, two walks and striking out 10 Longwood hitters in six innings of work. Sophomore Blake Little was sharp as well working the final three innings allowing one run on two hits and struck out three to pick up the save. A two-run single from PJ Heintz and a sacrifice fly by Chris Troost proved to be all the offense Asheville needed to complete the doubleheader sweep.
Edwards, who improved to 4-6 on the season with his win Friday, continued his stellar work on the mound. His outing vs. Longwood marked the sixth time in his last seven starts that he has allowed two runs or less. Little, meanwhile, also continues a nice string of outings with this one capped by him picking up his first collegiate save.
Offensively, the Bulldogs managed six hits in game two. Heintz, who made his first start since late March, went 2-for-4 with a double, two RBI and one run scored. Freeberger also joined Heintz with two hits in game two and scored a run as well. Chandler and Lankford accounted for the other hits for Asheville in the contest.
Next Up – Asheville and Longwood will conclude their three-game series with a single contest on Saturday. The first pitch for that matchup is scheduled for 4 p.m. on ESPN+ and locally on CW62.
Game 1 Recap – There was no shortage of offense in game one as a total of 21 runs were scored. After withstanding a pair of rallies from Longwood, the Bulldogs persevered to score the winning run on a sacrifice fly from Brandon Lankford in the bottom of the ninth to finish off the 11-10 victory.
Longwood would strike first with three singles off Asheville starter Justin Honeycutt in the first inning. Honeycutt, however, settled down after that finishing his outing with 5.1 innings pitched, one run on four hits and struck out six.
Thanks to Honeycutt settling down after a rocky first inning, the Bulldog offense was able to answer. Asheville scored single runs in the second and third before erupting for four runs in the fourth to chase Longwood's starter from the contest.
Things were looking good for Asheville as it held a 7-1 lead going to the seventh inning. The Lancer offense, which was quiet since the first, exploded for seven runs in the seventh to pull in front, 8-7. Longwood and Asheville continued to score runs off the others' bullpen and the score was knotted at 10 headed to the ninth.
Dominic Freeberger, who entered the game in the eighth, held the Lancers scoreless in the top half of the inning. In Asheville's ninth, Wade Chandler and Freeberger drew back-to-back walks to start the inning. A wild pitch moved both runners into scoring position with nobody out. Lankford came through with a sacrifice fly to score Chandler to give Asheville an 11-10 walk-off victory.
The Bulldogs had plenty of action on the base paths in the game one victory as 10 different players reached at least once. Chandler and Grayson Preslar did a great job acting as double leadoff men as they combined to score five of the team's 10 runs. Freeberger, who was also the winning pitcher, Lankford, Ty Kaufman, and Sebastian Dunn all drove in two runs each to fuel the 11-run outburst by the Bulldog offense.
Game 2 Recap – The second game of the day was much more of a pitchers' duel. Jacob Edwards turned in arguably his best start of the season allowing one run (not earned) on one hit, two walks and striking out 10 Longwood hitters in six innings of work. Sophomore Blake Little was sharp as well working the final three innings allowing one run on two hits and struck out three to pick up the save. A two-run single from PJ Heintz and a sacrifice fly by Chris Troost proved to be all the offense Asheville needed to complete the doubleheader sweep.
Edwards, who improved to 4-6 on the season with his win Friday, continued his stellar work on the mound. His outing vs. Longwood marked the sixth time in his last seven starts that he has allowed two runs or less. Little, meanwhile, also continues a nice string of outings with this one capped by him picking up his first collegiate save.
Offensively, the Bulldogs managed six hits in game two. Heintz, who made his first start since late March, went 2-for-4 with a double, two RBI and one run scored. Freeberger also joined Heintz with two hits in game two and scored a run as well. Chandler and Lankford accounted for the other hits for Asheville in the contest.
Next Up – Asheville and Longwood will conclude their three-game series with a single contest on Saturday. The first pitch for that matchup is scheduled for 4 p.m. on ESPN+ and locally on CW62.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Freeberger, Dominic (2-0)
L: CHAMPAGNE, Dillon (0-3)
Batting:
2B: HARRIS, Hayden 1 ; SCHNELL, Jack 1
RBI: SCHNELL, Jack 3 ; GILLIAM, Hunter 1 ; JIMENEZ, Ricky 1 ; CHAMPAGNE, Dillon 3 ; NELSON, James 2
SH: DOLBERRY, Michael 1
Base Running:
RUNS: HARRIS, Hayden 2 ; SCHNELL, Jack 2 ; GILLIAM, Hunter 1 ; DIX, Eliot 2 ; CHAMPAGNE, Dillon 1 ; NELSON, James 1 ; KOWALSKI, Drayven 1
HBP: HARRIS, Hayden 1 ; KOWALSKI, Drayven 1
Batting:
2B: Freeberger, Dominic 1 ; Lankford, Brandon 1 ; Lucas, MJ 1
RBI: Chandler, Wade 1 ; Freeberger, Dominic 2 ; Lankford, Brandon 2 ; Kaufman, Ty 2 ; Dunn, Sebastian 2 ; Groves, Michael 1 ; Preslar, Grayson 1
SH: Dunn, Sebastian 1 ; Lucas, MJ 1
SF: Lankford, Brandon 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Chandler, Wade 3 ; Freeberger, Dominic 1 ; Lankford, Brandon 1 ; Kaufman, Ty 1 ; Lucas, MJ 1 ; Groves, Michael 1 ; Troost, Chris 1 ; Preslar, Grayson 2
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
5
R
1
H
2
RBI
2
rf/lf
AB
5
R
1
H
2
RBI
2
AB
3
R
3
H
1
RBI
1
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
2
Players Mentioned
OF
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
LHP
/ BaseballINF/OF
/ Baseball
LHP/OF
/ BaseballINF
/ BaseballINF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
U
/ Baseball
INF
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