Redshirt freshman third baseman Karleigh Donovan came through with two clutch hits in the NCAA Regional to lead the Lancers to the Harrisonburg Regional Championship against host and No. 7 national seed James Madison.
The All-Big South second team selection played hero twice in the same day as the Lancers (40-20) knocked off Princeton and North Carolina in back-to-back games to advance to the NCAA Regional Championship for the first time in program history. Donovan's first highlight of the tournament was a game-tying solo home run in the fourth inning against Princeton in a game that the Lancers pulled out, 2-1, to set up an elimination showdown against No. 2 regional seed North Carolina.
Against the Tar Heels, Donovan came through in a big way with a game-winning, walk-off single down the left field line that scored Carly Adams to secure Longwood's historic 5-4 upset win. Donovan finished 2-for-5 in that game, which was the Lancers' fourth consecutive upset win.
Donovan was a major contributor in her first season as a Lancer, starting 52 games while hitting .333 with seven home runs, six doubles, two triples and a .558 slugging percentage. She drove in 27 runs, which ranked as the fifth most on the team.
