Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

FARMVILLE, Va. – The Longwood University softball team split a pair of decisions on Sunday afternoon to close out its annual Spring Classic Tournament. The Lancers defeated Lafayette College (1-3), 8-0, in five innings before falling, 1-0, to Towson University (7-5) in a hard-fought contest that went to extra innings. Junior Katie Shinrock/Fountain Valley, Calif. went 3-for-5 (.600) at the plate with one RBI and one run scored to lead Longwood's offensive effort on the day, while sophomore Emily Murphy/Virginia Beach hit .500 (2-4) with three stolen bases, two runs and one RBI. Freshman pitcher Jenna Carnes/Six Mile, S.C. picked up her first career win in the circle for the Lancers, going the distance in the shutout against Lafayette, and allowing just one hit and one walk. Longwood will travel to Tucson, Ariz. to play five games as part of the Wildcat Invitational, hosted by the University of Arizona, from February 28-March 2.

"I was happy with the defense and pitching this weekend," said head coach Kathy Riley. "I thought we did a nice job of keeping both Lafayette and Towson under control when it came to that. We didn't put ourselves in too many bad spots, but unfortunately, what we didn't do as well was have a lot of good plate appearances. For us to become a good team by the end of the year, we will have to grow as an offensive group and have the younger players gain some maturity. We have five underclassmen starting and if you count the freshmen pitchers we have more that are making an impact on whether or not we do well. Although it's hard to talk about patience, it will require that patience on our part to continue to teach the game to them. Our goal is to be really good by the last third of the season."

Against Lafayette, Carnes retired the side in order in the top of the first, forcing a pair of groundouts and a fly out. Longwood was productive in its first trip to the plate, as Murphy was hit by a pitch, stole second and advanced to third on a grounder by classmate Carly Adams/Colonial Heights (0-6, 1 run, 1 walk). Junior Megan Baltzell/Stafford (2-5, 2 RBI, 1 run) put a ball in play that was mishandled by the second baseman, allowing Murphy to cross the plate, before stealing third and scoring on another Lafayette error to give Longwood an early 2-0 advantage.

The Leopards put a runner on base during their next at-bat thanks to a Longwood miscue, but she was stranded at first. In the bottom of the second, Shinrock bunted for a leadoff single. Sophomore Jaime Barbour/Amelia (0-3) followed with a cleanly-executed sacrifice bunt, but Shinrock was thrown out at third after trying to take two bases on the play. Neither side was able to plate a run in the next inning, as Longwood's defense was highlighted by great diving catch from junior Casey Lifsey/Portsmouth (1-5) in right field in the top of the third.

The Lancers extended their lead in the bottom of the fourth with the help of three Lafayette errors. Junior Chelsea Sciacca/Whittier, Cailf. (3-7, 1 run, 1 RBI) got things started with a single through the middle of the infield. On the next play, freshman Taylor Hedrick/Fredericksburg (1-6, 1 run) hit into a fielder's choice, but because of an off-target throw, ended up on second with Sciacca on third. Both runners scored off errors by the visitors to give Longwood a 4-0 lead. Murphy tripled later in the inning to bring home Shinrock, who had drove a RBI single through the right side, and Baltzell and Sciacca added RBI singles of their own, putting the Lancers on top, 8-0. In the top of the fifth, the Leopards recorded their lone hit of the game with two outs, but were unable to rally, allowing Longwood to seal the mercy-rule decision.

In the squad's second game against Towson, Longwood threatened in the top of the first, as Baltzell drew a two-out walk, Sciacca poked a base hit up the middle and Hedrick walked to load the bases. However, the team was unable to capitalize. In the bottom of the first, the Tigers went three-up and three-down, including two strikeouts by freshman pitcher Elizabeth McCarthy/Dunnsville (7.1 innings, 5 hits, 6 strikeouts). The teams battled defensively throughout the remainder of the game, as neither side was able to get on the board in the first seven innings. Towson got a pair of hits in the bottom of the second and one in the third, while Longwood added one in each of the fourth and fifth innings from Hedrick and Murphy, respectively. Both sides left one base runner stranded in the sixth inning and were retired in order in the seventh to send the game to extra innings.

In the top of the eighth with runners on first and second, the Lancers tried a double-steal, but when Baltzell attempted to take an extra base, she was thrown out at home to keep the game scoreless. Towson earned the 1-0 win in the bottom of the inning with a sacrifice bunt and a RBI single.