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Longwood baseball fell behind early Tuesday afternoon to Norfolk State before rallying late to win the midweek matchup between the two. The Lancers (12-13) plated three runs in both the sixth and seventh to take the first of three midweek games from the Spartans (7-17) this season.

Collin Hughes had a monster day at the plate for the Lancers with a double and a home run.

TOP LWU PERFORMERS:

Collin Hughes: 2-3, 1 HR (1), 2 RBI, 1 R

Jared Glinski: 1-1, 2 RBI, 1 3 B

Owen Simmons: 2.1 IP, 2 SO, 0 ER

Breaking down the game 

The Spartans struck first Tuesday evening on an rbi single courtesy of Justin Journette. Longwood would respond in the bottom half however as Zach Colangelo drew a leadoff walk, and two batters later Collin Hughes placed one down the right field line to even the score at one.

Norfolk State would add another run in the top half of the second, and from there pitching was great for both teams for the next three innings.

It wasn’t until the sixth inning, when the Spartans had to pull their starting pitcher, Liam Royster, that the Lancers were able to take the lead for the first time. The leadoff batter for the Lancers in the bottom half of the sixth was Hughes, and he once again delivered. The sophomore turned on a 1-1 fastball and blasted it into the right center field trees to tie the game at two. After a Blagen Pado walk, Casey Gibbs would give the Lancers the lead for the first time on a double into the left center gap.

Longwood never gave that lead back to the Spartans.

In the bottom half of the seventh, Jared Glinski smacked a pinch hit, two run triple for a 6-2 lead, and the Lancers extended the lead to 8-2.

Owen Simmons (1-3) picked up the win for Longwood, going 2.1 scoreless innings. He struck out two and only gave up two hits.

For NSU, Ethan Blakeney (0-1) took the loss.

“I was proud of the way our guys kept battling today,” said Longwood Head Coach Chad Oxendine. “We fell behind early, but were able to string some key at bats along late to push us over the edge. Our pitchers did a good job today of getting out of jams, making all of their runs hard to come by. They competed, something we have been preaching all season.”

What’s next for Longwood baseball?

Longwood will travel to Samford on Friday for a double header. First pitch is slated for 1 p.m.