FARMVILLE, Va. – Junior first baseman Tanner Thomas went 3-for-6 at the plate with three RBIs and two runs scored while leading the Gardner-Webb (14-15, 4-5) baseball team to a series sweep of Longwood (8-20, 3-3) after beating the Lancers 13-9 on Sunday afternoon.
Garrett Macias was also able to tally three hits in six at-bats, driving in one run and scoring twice. Matt Ilgenfritz continued his stellar work with two more RBIs. Jaden Stockton improved to 2-0 on the season after tossing 2.0 innings and striking out five batters.
Just as it did the first two games of the series, Gardner-Webb struck first in the opening inning. Patience and good fortune accompanied the Runnin' Bulldogs at the dish as they were able to load the bases with no outs following two walks and base hit.
Ilgenfritz then earned a tough RBI after being hit by a pitch before the third walked of the frame, drawn by Ethan Liao, produced the second for GWU. Longwood answered that with a pair of runs in the bottom of the first, knotting the score at 2-2.
Following a quiet second inning from both sides, the 'Dawgs opened a comfortable margin with four runs in the top of the third. Walks were an issue for the Longwood staff once more as Gavin Johnson and Ryan Kennell took back-to-back free passes with the bases loaded for RBIs while Merik Carter capped the scoring with a two-RBI single to left, pushing the GWU lead to 6-2.
Longwood picked one of those runs back up in the bottom of the third, but a six-run fifth blew the game wide open for the Runnin' Bulldogs. Consecutive infield singles paired with another base on balls loaded the bases for Gardner-Webb. '
Thomas cleared the bases bags with a double to center before coming around to score on a two-bagger down the right field line off the bat off Macias. Ilgenfritz followed that up with an RBI double of his own and Nick Capozzi capped the scoring with a double down the left field line.
Longwood was able to trim the deficit to 12-9 with two runs in the fifth followed by its best output of the game, four runs in the seventh. However, Gardner-Webb added an insurance run in the top of the ninth after Thomas scored on a wild pitch.
The Lancers went quietly in the home half of the ninth while the Runnin' Bulldogs completed the three-game sweep in conference play.
Gardner-Webb returns to action on Tuesday, April 1, traveling to Chapel Hill, N.C. to face the Tarheels of North Carolina in a non-conference battle. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m.
