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FARMVILLE – The ingredients for a statement win combined perfectly on Saturday afternoon for Longwood baseball.

The Lancers (15-23, 5-9 Big South) struck early behind a big base knock from Gregory Ryan, Jr., Ryan Miller was sharp on the mound, and Longwood shut down the No. 14 team in the nation Campbell 6-3 to even the series.

 For the Lancers, it was the program’s first win over a team in the top 14 and the first win over a ranked opponent since 2016. That season, the Lancers, with current head coach Chad Oxendine then in the dugout as an assistant, took down a Coastal Carolina side that was ranked No. 22 and went on to win the national championship.

“This win is huge,” Oxendine said. “We talk about as a program how everything matters and doing the little things right, the small victories. Being able to put it together, and all of our 2023 guys were here today, I hope that all of the people around this program and associated with it see where we’re going.”

Miller leads the way for Longwood baseball

Miller (3-4) repeatedly executed in his finest start for Longwood baseball to lead the way. The righthander tossed six innings of one-run baseball against a Campbell (26-8, 12-2 Big South) team that came in averaging 10 runs per game.

“Ryan Miller threw the ball really well today,” said Oxendine. “He competed and was landing his breaking ball. He got out of a couple jams, and we played pretty clean baseball. We limited our mistakes, played pretty good defense, and Ryan pounded the zone all day.”

Meanwhile, the Lancer offense scored the bulk of its runs on Campbell’s unbeaten Saturday starter Chance Daquila in the first inning. Ryan swatted a two-run home run to left-center to erase Campbell’s early one-run lead, and Hayden Harris poked home another run with a single to center field. A wild pitch scored one more, and Longwood exited the opening frame up 4-1.

“That swing by Greg was huge,” Oxendine added. “I got on him a little bit yesterday after his first at bat when he took two fastballs down the middle. I told him he was a good hitter and he has to jump on those fastballs early. He put some good swings on the baseball today.

Once Miller had the lead, he went to work. The graduate transfer kept the Camels off balance with five straight scoreless frames after surrendering his lone run in the first inning. From the second through the fifth inning, he retired the side in order twice, and he limited Campbell to two base runners in those innings.

In the sixth inning, Miller ran into trouble but danced around the big hit. The heart of the Campbell order put runners on second and third with no outs, but Miller refused to buckle. He induced a lineout to short before striking out back-to-back batters to preserve a 5-1 lead.

Campbell tries to rally

Campbell plated a pair of runs in the seventh off Kevin Warunek, but the seasoned duo of Guillermo Garcia, Jr. and Dominick D’Ercole preserved the win. D’Ercole earned the save by throwing back-to-back scoreless frames, and he retired six of seven batters he faced to polish off the game.

“Dom comes in and throws two innings and doesn’t give up a hit there,” said Oxendine. “He’s an older guy that we trust, and it lined up good. Garcia and Dom, they picked up Kevin Warunek, and we expect them to do things like that. It was great to see. I’m sure it was good for both of them to have some confidence going into the rest of the year.”

The two sides will tangle in the rubber match for the series Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m.