Games 26-27: Longwood at Virginia Tech (DH)
March 25, 2015 • 4 p.m.
Blacksburg, Va. • Tech Softball Park (1,024)

Game Notes

Leading Off
• Longwood travels to Virginia Tech for a mid-week doubleheader Wednesday afternoon beginning at 4 p.m. The Lancers and Hokies have played each season on the softball diamond since the 2007 campaign. • Junior Emily Murphy was named the Big South Player of the Week Monday. Murphy is the third Lancer to be named Big South Player of the Week this season, joining Elizabeth McCarthy and Me­gan Baltzell.
• Murphy hit a total of three home runs in Tuesday's doubleheader against Coastal, while going 4-for-  4 on the day with three walks to reach base in each of her seven at-bats. She helped Longwood win its first-ever series against the Chanticleers to begin Big South play.
• Longwood -- who leads the Big South with an RPI of 111 -- will play its 10th foe of the season with an RPI inside the top-100. The Lancers have played four games among teams listed in the top-25 of the RPI rankings, while playing nine games against teams in the top-50 of the rankings. Fi­nally, 14 of Longwood's 25 games this season have come against opposing teams inside the top-100 of the rankings.

By The Numbers
• Longwood returns its full complement of starters from a season ago, including its top eight position players and the top eight bats in the lineup. In addition, the Lancers return their top three pitchers from last season
• Longwood will play at least 24 games against teams that finished among the top 100 in the 2014 RPI rankings with nine games against teams that finished in the top 50 of the RPI rankings.
• Depth in the circle is not an issue for Longwood in 2015, as the Lancers re­turn all three pitchers from a season ago, including two pitchers who earned all-conference accolades. If Elizabeth McCarthy is considered the 1A option for head coach Kathy Riley, then Libby Morris would be considered option 1B.
• In its opening day lineup, the Lancers had more than 900 starts by eight players. Megan Baltzell leads the group with 172 career starts.
• Longwood was picked second in the Big South by the head coaches in the pre­season. The Lancers picked up two first-place votes from the nine head coaches in the league.
• Megan Baltzell passed Brooke Short on the program's charts in career home runs, logging her 56th career round-trip­per Sunday to lead Longwood to a 10-7 victory over Fordham on the final day of the NC State Hyatt Place Invitational.
• Libby Morris looks to establish her name further into Longwood's all-time record books, as she is fifth all-time in career wins with 54 and fourth in career strike­outs with 281.
• In the fall, Longwood softball head coach Kathy Riley announced the signing of a strong recruiting class of six standout student-athletes to begin competing for the Lancers during the 2016 season. The class is comprised of four athletes from the Commonwealth of Virginia, and in­cludes one signee from Southern Califor­nia and North Carolina.
• Longwood enters its 36th season of soft­ball in 2015, as well as the 18th season under the guidance of head coach Kathy Riley. The Lancers own an all-time mark of 760-509-3, while posting a 237-142 ledger in the Division I era.

Last Time Out
• Longwood returned to the site of its 2013 Big South Conference Championship for its first series since taking home the crown that season at Winthrop's Terry Field and came away with its second Big South series victory of the 2015 season­ over the Eagles.
• After dropping Friday's opening game of the series, the Lancers evened the series at one after winning the first game of Sat­urday's doubleheader, 4-2, before taking the rubber match in the series finale, 8-3. The series gives Longwood its second straight series to open Big South play and its third consecutive over Winthrop since entering the Big South in 2013.
• The Longwood starting pitching combina­tion of Elizabeth McCarthy and Libby Mor­ris posted dominant performances in the circle, as the pair combined to allow just two runs in 14 innings pitched. McCarthy matched her season-high of 10 strikeouts in the second game, while Morris added two strikeouts in the first game of the day.
• Junior Emily Murphy continued her strong week in the batter's box, adding two home runs to go along with two RBI and three runs scored. For the week, Murphy bat­ted .386 and blasted five home runs to go along with nine runs scored and seven RBI.
• Longwood has now won seven of its past 10 games to run its record to 10-15 overall, while improving to 4-2 in conference play.

Scouting the Hokies
• Longwood and Virginia Tech have squared off on the softball diamond in each season since the 2006 campaign. The Lancers have won three of the past four games, including a mid-week dou­bleheader split last season in Farmville.
• Virginia Tech will mark the sixth team that Longwood has played that is among the top-50 of the RPI rankings this season. The Hokies are currently 39th and re­ceived 25 top-25 votes in the latest USA Today/NFCA Coaches Poll.
• Kylie McGoldrick leads the Hokies with a .421 average on the season, including 15 extra base hits. McGoldrick is tied for second on the Hokie roster with six home runs and leads the squad with 33 RBI.
• Virginia Tech has three pitchers this season with an ERA below 3.00. Mikae­la Aiken leads the squad with a 1.51 ERA in nine appearances including seven starts. Maggie Tyler leads the squad with 10 wins in 11 starts and 18 ap­pearances, as she boasts a 2.57 ERA.

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