Game 1 Box Score
Game 2 Box Score
NORFOLK, Va. – Visiting Longwood rallied for three ninth-inning runs to take game one 8-7, then struck early and often en route to an 11-4 win in game two of the Lancers' doubleheader sweep of Norfolk State on Saturday at Marty L. Miller Field.
NSU (19-26-1) led 7-5 entering the ninth inning of the opener, but fell on David Smiy's two-out, two-run single. In game two, Casey Havers drove in five runs for the Lancers (25-18), who got a complete-game effort from Lance Harting (9-0).
The Spartans got five hits Saturday from left fielder John Rasberry (Suffolk, Va.) and a two-run homer from Zaine Jack (Virginia Beach, Va.) in the nightcap.
NSU out-hit Longwood 14-11 in the first game. The Spartans scored three first-inning runs off Chris Briere to get the early lead, but the Lancers rallied as Scott Kimble and Robbie Bailey hit home runs. Later, LU catcher Robby Newman's two-out, two run double in the sixth tied the score at 5-all.
But NSU bounced back with single runs in the seventh and eighth to take a 7-5 lead. Senior Drew Suttmiller (Chesapeake, Va.), one of four Spartans honored during Senior Day festivities prior to the doubleheader, hit a pinch-hit RBI single in the seventh. Chris Joyce (Chesapeake, Va.) added an RBI single in the eighth to push NSU's cushion to two runs.
The Spartans had closer Ryan Shook (Chesapeake, Va.) on the mound at that point. Shook got the final out of the eighth, then retired the first two hitters of the ninth. But with the bases empty, Longwood rallied for three runs. Kimble got it started with a hit, and advanced to third after Brant Jones' infield single. Havers' single drove in Kimble to cut the Lancers' deficit to 7-6.
Shook (3-3) then intentionally walked Phil Cerreto to load the bases, but Smiy followed with a blooper that fell in just behind the Spartan infield to score the tying and go-ahead runs.
LU reliever Mark Montgomery got his sixth save of the year by retiring the Spartans in order in the bottom of the ninth. That preserved the win for Kyler Morgan (5-1), who gave up five hits and two runs in two innings.
Joyce was 3-for-4 with two RBI, while Rasberry, Brandon Hairston (North Garden, Va.), John Lynch (Newport News, Va.) and Cameron Parsons (Chesapeake, Va.) added two hits apiece in the opener.
The nightcap was all Longwood, which struck for three runs in the first and four in the second. Havers had an RBI single in the first and a three-run triple in the second to propel the Lancers to a 7-0 advantage.
Lynch tripled and scored on a Chris Warren (Virginia Beach, Va.) single in the fourth and Joyce knocked in a run with a groundout in the fifth to bring NSU within 7-2.
But Longwood added a pair of runs in both the sixth and seventh innings to put it out of each. Havers, who drove in six runs on the day, capped his big performance with an RBI double in the sixth.
The Spartans' final offensive highlight came in the bottom of the seventh inning. Jack, who entered the game in the top of the seventh as a defensive replacement, launched his first career homer to left field.
Harting got the win in the nightcap, pitching all seven innings and striking out eight. Chase Davenport (Wooster, Ohio) took the loss for NSU to drop to 4-5. He allowed seven runs on seven hits in two innings.
Rasberry was 5-for-6 on the day to pace the Spartans. Joyce was 4-for-7 with three RBI.
The teams wrap up their series on Sunday at 1 p.m. It will be the Spartans' final regular-season contest.
