The Tribe took down Longwood University 3-1 Tuesday, as freshman pitcher Tyler Truxell (1-1) picked up his first career win. After sweeping the University of Maryland-Baltimore County over the weekend, the College entered the game against Longwood seeking its fourth-straight win. The Tribe entered the contest with a record of 4-6; the Longwood Lancers came with 7-4.
p. “We were riding a three-game winning streak, so we felt confident and wanted to continue having some success,” Head Coach Frank Leoni said. “Our one concern was that Longwood plays us very tough … we knew it would be a closely contested game.”
p. Leoni came away impressed with Truxell’s performance.
“He’s one of our top freshmen. He’s shown some signs that he could be very good and [at Longwood] he put it all together,” Leoni said. “He really attacked the strike zone and was able to force Longwood into trying to beat him instead of putting runners on base.”
p. Offensively, sophomore second baseman James Williamson totaled two RBI and sophomore shortstop Lanny Stanfield added another. Senior third baseman Greg Sexton, sophomore first baseman Mike Sheridan and sophomore rightfielder Ben Guez all scored runs.
p. The College started off strong with two hits in the top of the first, with singles from both senior designated hitter Brent McWhorter and junior leftfielder Greg Maliniak. Truxell then forced Longwood into three up, three down, striking out the second batter.
p. In the second inning, Sexton doubled to right center but the Tribe could not gather any momentum against the Longwood pitcher.
p. Longwood got on the board first in the bottom of the fifth after a walked player reached home on a double. In the top of the sixth, Sexton led off with a single to left, advancing to third after singles to center field from both Sheridan and Guez. Stanfield walked with the bases loaded, bringing Sexton home and earning Stanfield an RBI. With the bases loaded once again, Williamson smacked a crucial single through the left side, scoring Guez and Sheridan to bump the Tribe advantage to two. The inning ended on a double play, but not before the College had taken a 3-1 lead.
p. Truxell pitched two more scoreless innings and senior Warrik Staines provided sound relief, finishing the contest with a 3-1 Tribe victory.
p. “It feels very good [to have four straight wins], but we’re not getting ahead of ourselves,” Leoni said. “We want to keep it all in perspective.”
