Travis Biddix had never hit a home run in three years as a Longwood Lancer and was 0-for-4 on the day heading into his final at-bat. That all changed Wednesday evening at Eagle Field as the senior co-captain launched a 1-1 fastball over the left field wall to spark a three-run ninth inning and a huge come-from-behind victory over in-state rival James Madison.
Biddix has spent most of the early going as the Lancers designated hitter in 2015. His year became a lot more interesting when Biddix spent the better portion of the bus ride to Harrisonburg getting a crash course in catching signals from head coach Ryan Mau. After starting the game at second base, Biddix moved behind the plate in the bottom of the eighth.
In his final at-bat the next inning, staring at the end of a of a six-game hitting streak, the 6-0, 170-pound do-it-all Biddix smashed a towering moonshot to left, tying the game at 4-4.
“I had a pretty good idea of what was coming,” Biddix said. “I made a really good swing on it and it was really nice to come back and beat this team since we have lost to them so many times in the past.”
That was just the beginning of the ninth-inning heroics as Alex Lewis stepped up with two outs and the bases loaded. The sophomore third baseman had been scuffling, entering the game at just .182, but he too found the clutch gene, roping an 0-2 pitch up the middle for a two-run single.
The blue and white pushed three runs across on just two hits in the top half of the ninth as the Lancers snatched an incredible comeback victory to end a five-game skid.
“We have been taking about trying to find that character win,” Mau said, “and you couldn’t get a bigger character win than the one we just got, especially after the rocky start we got off to again. I’m really proud of the way the guys competed, coming from behind and scratching back. Obviously we had Biddix with the big time hit and Alex Lewis coming through with a huge two-strike hit up the middle to give us the lead. A lot of guys stepped up today and I couldn’t be more proud of the effort we put forth.”
Longwood found itself playing from behind once again after the Dukes plated a pair of runs in the opening frame. The Lancers started senior Brandon Vick for the second time in four days after the southpaw tossed on Sunday against Ohio. For the third time this season, Vick could not work beyond the third inning, giving up four runs on four hits in 2.1 innings of work.
Much like Sunday, the bullpen was right there to pick its starter up, as four Lancers combined to toss the final 6.2 innings allowing just one run while scattering four hits. Mitchell Kuebbing was the first man out of the pen and settled the game for the blue and white. The right hander, who had been working in the closer role, threw four scoreless innings fanning five Dukes and allowing just three hits.
Kuebbing was relieved by sidewinder Ryan Jones, who produced a scoreless inning and a third. The 6-1 Fredericksburg native got each of his four outs via punchouts and conceded just a single hit. After Jones retired two batters in the eighth, freshman Michael Catlin (1-0) entered to create a left-on-left matchup with JMU third baseman Evan Hanifee. The rookie southpaw induced a chopper to second, ending the inning and ending his brief night but putting Catlin in line for the win.
“Outstanding job by the bullpen tonight,” said Mau. “Mitchell Kuebbing came in and gave us four strong innings and then Ryan Jones came in a situation and did his job with four big-time punchouts. Again, you got the freshman (Catlin) who comes in and does his job, too.”
The Lancers managed to pull back a pair of runs in the seventh inning to cut the JMU lead to 4-3, setting up the dramatic finish. In that seventh frame, leadoff hitter and center fielder Colton Konvicka, who finished the day 2-for-5, ripped a double to left center, scoring Michael Osinski from first. Biddix moved Konvicka up with a ground out and then Kyri Washington brought Konvicka home a batter later with an RBI ground out.
That was the second time Washington plated Konvicka on the day as the pair combined to produce the Lancers’ first run. Konvicka singled to lead off the third inning and proceeded to swipe second and third, setting up Washington’s RBI-single to put Longwood on the board.
On this day, the Lancers needed every run they could push across and trialing 4-3 heading to the ninth, it fell to the top of the order to spark a rally. With one out and a 1-1 count, Biddix changed the game with one swing of the bat on his solo home run.
After suffering a few late-game losses in the first two weeks of the season, the Lancers decided a tie-game wasn’t enough and it was their turn to snag a final at-bat victory. The go-ahead run moved into scoring position after Washington reached on an error and stole second. Following an intentional walk to Connar Bastaich, coach Mau went to the bench and inserted freshman Hayes Nelson to create a right-on-left matchup.
While Nelson’s at-bat won’t jump off the page in the box score, the rookie produced a clutch, crucial appearance and drew a five-pitch walk to load the bases. That allowed Lewis to plate two with his single a batter later, giving Longwood a 6-4 advantage.
That walk and the difference of one run allowed Longwood to hold off the Dukes in the bottom of the ninth for the 6-5 victory. Sophomore Luke Simpson earned his first career save by stranding the tying and game-winning runs on second and third.
The 6-3, 185-pound right-hander issued back-to-back free passes to open the inning, but got three-consecutive ground balls to record two outs with just one run scoring. With the tying run just 90 feet away, Simpson dropped a 1-2 curveball into the dirt and watched Ky Parrott swing over it.
“Luke is new to that position right there,” Mau said. “That was a gut-check and to see him step up and deliver was outstanding.”
The Lancers needed one final piece to earn the hard-fought comeback victory: a block and tag by their backstop. Who else but Travis Biddix was behind the plate, smothering the ball in the dirt and applying the tag to Parrott to seal the enthralling win.
“That was a huge win for us,” Biddix said. “We’ve been grinding out some games lately and coming out on the bottom of them. I think it was great for us to keep grinding out games and finally get a big win here.”
Biddix played the hero on Wednesday night, but the senior has long been much more than that for the blue and white. Designated hitter, second base, catcher – it’s all about the team with Biddix.
“Travis is our leader off the field and tonight he showed he’s also our leader on the field,” said Mau. “He goes about his business the right way and deserves all the success he had today. Whatever role we need from him is the role he’s willing to step into. We throw him behind the plate today and not only does he hit the home run, but he blocks strike three in the dirt and tags the runner to end the game. It’s pretty outstanding to see a quality character young man like that have a successful day and help us get a big win.”
Longwood returns to the diamond Saturday with a doubleheader against Army. The series will be played in Morehead City, N.C. due to inclement weather and additional snow forecast in Central Virginia this week.
Share
Contributors
