Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

HARRISONBURG, Va. – The Longwood University softball team split a pair of decisions against James Madison University (29-12) at Veterans Memorial Park on Wednesday evening in Harrisonburg. The Lancers faced a 4-2 setback in game one before bouncing back to earn a 5-1 victory in game two. Junior Megan Baltzell/Stafford went 6-for-7 (.857) with two runs scored on the day to pace Longwood at the plate. Junior Casey Lifsey/Portsmouth hit .400 (2-5) with two runs and one RBI to add to the offense, while classmate Chelsea Sciacca/Whittier, Calif. (.286) totaled a team-best three RBI. Freshman Elizabeth McCarthy/Dunnsville earned the win for the Lancers in the circle, recording a personal-best eight strikeouts and dropping her season ERA to just 1.99. Longwood (26-8) will return to Farmville for another doubleheader tomorrow, Thursday, April 10, as the squad welcomes in-state opponent Hampton University to Lancer Field beginning at 4 p.m.
 
"Tonight we earned a big win for Longwood University and the softball program," said head coach Kathy Riley. "JMU is a very strong, well-coached program and it's always a tremendous battle. Much of the credit should go to the battery and Coach Steele because they did a fantastic job all evening."
 
In the Lancers' first trip to the plate in game one, Baltzell stepped up with two outs and sent a hard-hit ball back up the middle, but she was unable to advance past first. The Dukes also hit into two quick outs in the home half of the inning before extending their at-bat on a dropped third strike and eventually putting runners on the corners after a walk, although junior pitcher Libby Morris/Dillwyn (6.0 IP, 2 K, 3 BB, 8 H) forced one more groundout to extinguish the opportunity. Sophomore Jamie Barbour/Amelia (1-6) legged out an infield single for Longwood in the top of the second and advanced on a sacrifice bunt by freshman Taylor Hedrick/Fredericksburg (0-2), but JMU would pull ahead, 1-0, in the home half of the inning on a RBI double to the gap in left field. The Lancers were quick to erase the difference, however, as junior Katie Shinrock/Fountain Valley, Calif. (2-7, 2 runs) singled down the right field line to start a two-out rally in the third that included a base hit by Baltzell and a two-run single to left by Sciacca, giving the visitors a 2-1 edge. 
 
The teams continued their back-and-forth battle into the fourth, as James Madison used a pair of consecutive doubles to knot the score and added a single to center later in the inning to regain the upper hand at 3-2. Longwood went three-up and three-down in the top of the fifth to make it six consecutive Lancers retired by Jailyn Ford before Caitlin Sandy drove a solo homer to center to extend the JMU lead to 4-2. Baltzell ended the silence for Longwood, as the squad's lone base runner in the sixth with a single through the right side, and after the Dukes left one runner on in the home half of the inning, the two-run margin remained intact heading into the seventh. Longwood was unable to make any noise in its final trip to the plate, though, thanks to two more strikeouts from Ford to total 11 in the 4-2 decision.
 
Longwood did not waste any time getting on the board in game two, as sophomore Emily Murphy/Virginia Beach (2-7, 2 RBI) and Baltzell singled before sophomore Carly Adams/Colonial Heights (0-6, 1 RBI) sent a sacrifice fly to left to score Shinrock and give the visitors a 1-0 edge. McCarthy retired the JMU side in order in the bottom of the first and Lifsey ripped a long ball over the fence in right center in the top of the second to extend the buffer to 2-0. The squads combined for three runners left on base in the third when Shinrock led off with a single to right, and the Dukes recorded a base hit and a walk.
 
In the fourth, freshman Justina Augustine/Warrenton (1-5, 1 run) singled up the middle and Lifsey sent a hard ball through the right side to put runners on second and third for Murphy, who followed with a two-bagger down the right field line to clear the bases and give Longwood the 4-0 lead. JMU plated its lone run of the contest in the sixth with back-to-back doubles, including a RBI gapper that cut the deficit back to three. Longwood's Augustine was hit by a pitch and James Madison's Taylor Newton drew a walk, marking the only two players to reach base in the sixth. In the final inning of the day, Baltzell found a hole on the right side and scored on the next play with a double to deep left center by Sciacca, giving the Lancers the 5-1 margin of victory.