Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

CLINTON, S.C. – The Longwood University softball team swept a doubleheader at Big South Conference opponent Presbyterian College (18-14, 4-5) on Sunday afternoon to wrap up the three-game series in Clinton, S.C. The Lancers took a 14-3 victory in game one before battling back from a seven-run deficit to earn a 9-8 win in game two. Junior Megan Baltzell/Stafford paced Longwood at the plate, hitting .625 (5-8) with two home runs, five runs and eight RBI. Juniors Casey Lifsey/Portsmouth and Chelsea Sciacca/Whittier, Calif., and freshman Justina Augustine/Warrenton added to the offensive effort with four hits apiece (.500). Lifsey notched five RBI and three runs scored with a grand slam, as well. Freshman pitcher Elizabeth McCarthy/Dunnsville picked up both wins in the circle with nine strikeouts and a 2.80 ERA in 10 innings. Longwood (20-7, 9-2) will return to action on Wednesday, April 2 when the squad hosts in-state opponent the University of Virginia in a doubleheader beginning at 4 p.m.

"Our kids did two things really well today," said head coach Kathy Riley. "One, we competed like athletes should, and two, we kept our composure. We represented Longwood successfully, which is extremely important to us."

Presbyterian got on the board in the first inning of game one with a pair of hits, including a RBI double down the right field line. Both sides went three-up and three-down in the second, as Longwood turned a double play to end the inning on a ball hit to sophomore Emily Murphy/Virginia Beach (3-10, 5 runs, 2 RBI) at shortstop. The Lancers carried the momentum into their next trip to the plate, rallying for seven runs in the third. Murphy got things started with a solo home run, knotting the score at 1-1. Later in the inning, Sciacca singled through the right side to score junior Katie Shinrock/Fountain Valley, Calif. (2-9, 2 runs), who had also got aboard with a base hit. With two outs and runners on the corners, Augustine drove a hard-hit ball up the middle for the squad's third RBI of the inning. Freshman Taylor Hedrick/Fredericksburg (3-8, 2 runs, 1 RBI) kept the inning alive with a single to left to load the bases for Lifsey, who knocked a high fly over the fence in left for a grand slam, giving Longwood the 7-1 lead.

Although both sides were retired in order in the fourth, the Lancers added one more run in the fifth, as sophomore Jamie Barbour/Amelia (2-8, 2 runs, 1 RBI) singled up the middle and stole second before scoring on a two-bagger by Hedrick. The Blue Hose chipped away at the difference in the home half of the inning with a two-run homer to pull within five at 8-3. Longwood was quick to retaliate, though, using RBI hits from Baltzell and Sciacca in the top of the sixth to pull ahead, 10-3. In their final trip to the dish, the visitors scored four more runs on four hits and a PC miscue to secure a 14-3 victory.

The Lancers plated one run in the first inning in game two when Baltzell logged a two-out solo home run. Presbyterian was quick to answer in the home half of the inning with three consecutive hits and a sacrifice fly, giving the home team a 2-1 advantage. The Blue Hose retired the Longwood side in its next two at-bats, while adding to their own lead with four runs on five hits in the second, and one run on two hits and one error in the third, giving PC a 7-1 edge.

Longwood got one run back in the top of the fourth, as Baltzell, Sciacca and Augustine logged consecutive hits before Baltzell scored later in the inning on a fielding error. Presbyterian left a pair of runners stranded in the home half of the fourth, allowing the Lancers to cut the difference to just one at 7-6 with five runs in the fifth thanks to a grand slam from Baltzell and a RBI single to right center by Barbour. Longwood took its first lead of the game in the sixth with two more runs, including a RBI single from Sciacca, pulling ahead, 9-6. The Blue Hose retaliated, closing the gap to just one with a pair of doubles in the bottom of the sixth, but Longwood held the home squad scoreless in the seventh to take the 9-8 comeback decision.