NORFOLK, Va. – Megan Baltzell continued her power tear with a home run for the fifth straight game, as Longwood earned a pair of wins in a doubleheader sweep of Norfolk State Thursday evening at NSU Softball Stadium.

The Lancers captured the first game of the day, 8-1, before scoring two runs in the top of the seventh inning to take the sweep with a 3-1 win in the nightcap.

"It's nice to come away with two good wins," said head coach Kathy Riley. "Coming off two tough losses yesterday to Virginia, I think there was some residual effect from that. We're just happy that we came away with two wins, as that was our No. 1 goal."

Baltzell added a homer in her second at-bat in the first game, marking the fifth straight game she  has homered since the second game of Saturday's doubleheader against Gardner-Webb. She nearly added a grand slam, but settled for a two-RBI double off the top of the wall in left center field. She is now three home runs ahead of Coastal Carolina's Kory Hayden to become the all-time leader in home runs in the Big South.

Longwood gets back to within a game of the .500 mark at 22-23 overall, while Norfolk State falls to 9-19 on the year.

"These kids have worked really hard so far and we need to make sure that we finish the job and put our best foot forward the best we can over the remaining two weeks of the regular season," Riley said.

Longwood will have five days off before traveling for its final road nonconference matchup against Elon. First pitch is set for 6 p.m.

Longwood 8, Norfolk State 1
Baltzell enjoyed a 3-for-3 game at the plate, including a pair of doubles and a home run in addition to five RBI, as Longwood captured an 8-1 win in game one of the day.

She was one of three Lancers to have a multi-hit day, as Newport News, Va., native Kelsey Sweeney notched a pair of hits and a pair of RBI. Katie Shinrock also recorded a pair of hits to go along with a run scored.

Jenna Carnes (1-4) earned her first win of the season, as she pitched four innings in relief of Elizabeth McCarthy. She allowed one run on three hits and a walk. Meanwhile,
McCarthy pitched 3.0 innings and allowed just one hit to go along with a pair of strikeouts.

Longwood batted around the order in the third inning and Baltzell added a three-run blast for the fifth straight game. Shinrock also came around to score off a fielder's choice off the bat of Justina Augustine.

The Lancers sent eight batters to the plate in the fourth inning, adding four more runs to their total. Baltzell narrowly missed her second home run in the game, instead hitting a two-run double off the top of the wall in left center field. Baltzell and Murphy – who loaded the bases with a walk – came around to score following a Sweeney two-RBI single up the middle.

Carnes came on to pitch in relief of McCarthy in the fourth and Norfolk State scored their lone run of the game in the inning off a single up the middle from the bat of Whitney Williams to score Heather Dunning.

Longwood 3, Norfolk State 1
Longwood scored two runs in the top of the seventh inning to take the second game of the doubleheader, 3-1.

Thursday's second game marked just the second time this season that Longwood has picked up a win when tied after six innings.

McCarthy (17-12) picked up the win, as she allowed just one run on six hits over seven complete innings. She added five strikeouts.

Liz Riley took the loss, giving up three unearned runs on just two hits over seven innings. Riley walked seven Longwood batters and struck out three

The Lancers scored the first run of the game in the top of the fifth inning. Lifsey led off the frame with a double down the left field line. She moved up to third base on a steal and came home after Sommer Di Fulgo threw the ball into right field.

The Spartans scored a run in the bottom of the inning after a Seana Moriarty double to right center field. Di Fulgo scored on the play for Norfolk State and Heather Dunning was ruled out at the plate in 9-4-2 fashion to end the inning.

Longwood manufactured a pair of runs in the seventh inning to retake a two-run advantage without the benefit of a hit. After a Barbour walk to lead off the inning, she advanced to third after Taylor Hedrick reached base on a muffed throw by the second baseman. Barbour came to the plate one batter later, as Lifsey lifted a pitch to left field to allow Barbour to tag from third on the sacrice fly.

McCarthy worked a quick three-up, three-down inning to seal the win and complete the sweep.  

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