By DARIUS THIGPEN
LongwoodLancers.com

FARMVILLE, Va. – They may be at different points in their careers and they may have teams with contrasting styles, but there's one huge similarity between Longwood head baseball coach Ryan Mau and head softball coach Kathy Riley: they are both winners.

Mau and Riley's teams have found success in contrasting ways this season, but both have made 2016 a memorable spring on the diamond for Longwood. Riley's powerhouse softball program is up to its usual Big South dominance, capturing their second straight Big South Championship this past weekend and preparing for their third NCAA Regional of the past four years, which kicks off this weekend at the NCAA Regional in Harrisonburg, Va. Mau's baseball Lancers, meanwhile, have shocked the Big South with a guaranteed top-four conference finish built on the strength of five walk-off wins, 21 comeback victories and an 11-3 record in one-run games. 
 
The Longwood softball program is an established power in the Big South, winning its third conference championship in just four years as a member of the league. Under Riley, now in her 19th season, Longwood has never had a losing record. Longwood's softball team will represent the Big South Conference for a third time in the NCAA Tournament when the Lancers head to the Harrisonburg Regional at James Madison.
 
"After you look at the entire thing and you look at how steady the girls have been and how solid they've been in every game, you have to feel good about their character and their resiliency," Riley said. "I don't know if we've ever gotten down on ourselves, and we've handled pressure well. This team, the fact that they can handle pressure well and rise to challenges, that's what really impresses me."
 
Contrasting softball's perennial dominance, the Longwood baseball team has caught the Big South by surprise this year and stormed its way to the top of the conference standings. Longwood has its first 30-win team as a Division I program and first winning season under Mau, who is in his second year at the helm. Finishing the regular season with a 14-10 conference record, the program's best in four years in the league, the Lancers enter the final weekend of the regular season guaranteed a top-four spot in the Big South Baseball Championship. The Lancers could finish as high as the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament, which begins May 24.
 
"It's an exciting time for Longwood baseball," Mau said. "The guys have done an outstanding job buying into a new coaching staff and our philosophies. We're really starting to see the benefits of that."
 
Aside from the success the two programs have had independently, both coaches and programs have each been extremely supportive of one another. That was on full display this past weekend in Rock Hill, S.C., when the baseball team—playing a conference series at Winthrop—showed up at the Big South Softball Championship to cheer the Lancers to their Big South Conference title.
 
"It's pretty neat to see who we think of as our counterpart in sports to have the success they're having," Mau said. "For us to also have the success we're having is great, and the support for each other is tremendous. We made an effort to bring our team out at the softball conference tournament and try to spark them, and they returned the favor by showing up to a huge weekend series at Winthrop to get us going. It's a really great friendship, and we have ultimate respect for what they do across the hall. They set the standard, and we're just trying to follow."
 
The baseball team took in softball's elimination game against Presbyterian on Friday morning, a 4-0 Lancer win. Then, at 7 p.m. immediately following softball's second win of the day, the softball team took in the baseball team's win at Winthrop, a 6-1 final. In the two days with an overlap of games that weekend of Winthrop's campus, the two Lancer teams on the diamond were a combined 6-0 and outscored opponents 47-6.
 
"We support all the programs and all the coaches at Longwood, and it's important for people to understand that the men's teams and the women's teams all support each other. Our successes are an overall department-wide celebration," Riley said.

"There's a natural support system for baseball because we're across the hall from each other, and the games are very similar in the things we go through. We have that connection, and we actually bounce things off each other when it comes to building certain skills. We're certainly proud of them and proud of the connection that we have that they would come to our game, and we definitely want to reciprocate."
 
It wasn't just at the Big South Softball Championship that the programs built each other up. They were together as the softball team found out its destination during the NCAA Softball Selection Show at Buffalo Wild Wings Sunday at 10 p.m., just minutes after the baseball team returned to Farmville from Rock Hill. The two teams were again enjoying time together when both baseball and softball had the senior classes honored for graduation Tuesday.
 
While Longwood softball is under the steady guidance of its long-time coach and reigning Big South Coach of the Year, the baseball program is on the rise in its second year under Mau.
 
"I think the reason I was so excited to take this position was because I thought Longwood had a lot to offer students as well as the potential of having just joined the Big South Conference ahead of the 2013 baseball season," Mau said. "I thought it was a program on the rise. I'm excited for where we are right now and where the program is headed. I'm excited for how the players have developed and the type of players we're starting to attract, but I still think are better days are yet to come."

They have done it in their own ways, but both Longwood baseball and Longwood softball have found ways to win. The two teams enter the weekend with a combined 68 wins, both 30-win programs. Longwood softball begins its NCAA Tournament run with a 2 p.m. first pitch Friday in the regional hosted by James Madison University, while the baseball team wraps up the season with a weekend set at Appalachian State the starts Thursday at 6 p.m.
 
Longwood's baseball and softball teams are each on a roll, and neither program has intentions of slowing down. Each program has vaulted to the top of the conference this spring and looks to carry the success of 2016 into the days ahead. Between the two teams the future is brighter than a sparkling diamond.
  #WoodYouBelieve