Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

FARMVILLE, Va. – The Longwood University softball team earned a pair of wins against in-state opponent the University of Virginia (4-29) of the Atlantic Coast Conference on Wednesday evening in a midweek doubleheader at Lancer Field in Farmville. The Lancers regained the momentum late in game one to come back and take a 6-4 decision before picking up an 8-4 victory in game two. Junior Megan Baltzell paced the Lancers' offense with three hits (.500), four RBI, two runs scored and a 1.167 slugging percentage on the day. Classmates Katie Shinrock/Fountain Valley, Calif. and Chelsea Sciacca/Whittier, Calif. each went 2-for-5 (.400) in the pair of games, as Shinrock scored four runs and Sciacca notched three RBI. Junior pitcher Libby Morris/Dillwyn earned both wins in the circle, totaling four strikeouts and just one earned run in 10.2 innings of work to improve to 11-4 overall this season. Longwood (22-7) will return to action this weekend when the squad travels to Big South Conference foe Gardner-Webb University for a three-game series on Saturday-Sunday, April 5-6.
 
"We're really excited to get two wins at home against Virginia for a couple reasons," said head coach Kathy Riley. "First, last year we went to their place and they won both games, so it was nice to come back to Longwood and get those back. And second, it was especially good to do it on LancerStrong Day when we had such a large crowd, not only from the school, but from the community, as well. It was great to see so many people at the field enjoying the excitement of Longwood softball.
 
"The girls really worked hard today defensively and did much better than we have in the past couple of weeks. We've had several position changes, so it was nice to see those kids get a little more comfortable and play well tonight. Every time they got runners on base, I thought we made some solid plays to get us out of innings and put pressure on them to start another rally."
 
The Cavaliers were retired in their first trip to the dish in game one with the help of a pair of strikeouts by freshman Elizabeth McCarthy/Dunnsville (3.1 IP, 4 K, 2 BB, 1 ER). Longwood then carried the momentum into the bottom of the first, as the squad loaded the bases with a pair of walks and a hit batter before Sciacca ripped a two-RBI single up the middle. Later in the inning, a one-out groundout by sophomore Jamie Barbour/Amelia (1-4, 1 run, 1 RBI) plated Sciacca to give the Lancers a 3-0 advantage. In the second, UVA and Longwood both went three-up and three-down, but the Cavs rallied in top of the third, taking advantage of a pair of Lancer miscues and three hits to knot the score at 3-3. The visitors pulled ahead, 4-3, in the next inning, using a leadoff double and a wild pitch before Morris came out of the bullpen to close out the side.
 
Longwood erased the difference in the home half of the fifth, however, when Shinrock and Baltzell got aboard with back-to-back hits before Sciacca knocked in Shinrock to make the score 4-4. The Lancers manufactured two more runs in the sixth to regain the upper hand at 6-4. Freshman Taylor Hedrick/Fredericksburg (0-2, 1 run), who drew a walk, scored on a throwing error and sophomore Emily Murphy/Virginia Beach (0-6, 1 run, 1 RBI) added a RBI sacrifice fly later in the at-bat. The home squad then retired the UVA side in order in the seventh to seal the hard-fought victory.
 
The Lancers took an early, 2-0 lead in game two, as Shinrock was hit by a pitch and Baltzell followed with a home run deep over the fence in center field. Virginia tallied two hits in the second, but was unable to capitalize before Longwood rallied for five runs in its next chance, beginning with Barbour, who led off with an infield single and scored on a perfectly executed squeeze bunt by senior Amy Putnam/Poquoson (1-3, 1 run, 1 RBI). With runners on first and second, Shinrock lined a RBI single into left and Baltzell followed with a two-run double to make the score 6-0. Longwood would log one more run in the inning, as Baltzell scored from second on an errant throw.
 
UVA got on the board in the top of the third with a two-out RBI single, but the Lancers quickly retaliated in the home half of the inning with a RBI base hit by Putnam to shallow right. A three-run homer for the Cavaliers cut the Longwood lead in half in the fourth, making the score 8-4. The home team left two runners stranded in the fourth, and neither side was able to make any noise in the fifth or sixth innings. In their final at-bat of the day, the Cavs' threatened with two runners, but Morris recorded a strikeout to end the game and secure the 8-4 decision.