Big South Championship Bracket | Audio Highlights

BUIES CREEK, N.C. – Longwood caught Buccaneer speedster Amanda Matsumoto trying to take home on a passed ball in the top of the seventh to escape a bases-loaded jam before Megan Baltzell raced home on a wild pitch in the bottom of the eighth to walkoff a 3-2 winner over Charleston Southern Friday afternoon and punch its ticket to the Big South Tournament semifinals.

The Lancers advance to the semifinals for the third straight season, reaching Saturday in each of the three seasons it has been a member of the Big South.

"In a tournament situation, there will always be a game that you have to win where things don't necessarily go your way," said Longwood head coach Kathy Riley. "There were a lot of those close plays today and we were just lucky enough for it to go in our favor."

The win is Longwood's first in extra innings, improving to 1-5 in games beyond the seventh this season. Longwood earned the win despite having just three hits – its lowest hit total since recording just a pair of hits against Norfolk St. April 16.

"When it first hit Marci's glove, it started to trickle away, but when she attempted to get it she knocked it further away," Baltzell said. "That's when I knew I was going home and we were going to win the game."

Carly Adams had two of Longwood's three hits on the afternoon, as the junior is now 5-of-6 in the tournament. Her second hit of the game tied the contest in the fourth inning, as she recorded a two-out double down the left field line to score Baltzell and Emily Murphy.

"Going into that at-bat, I was excited to be able to help my team," Adams stated. "I was so pumped about coming through and stepping up for my team."

Elizabeth McCarthy (22-12), the 2015 Big South Pitcher of the Year, earned the victory in her first appearance in the tournament. McCarthy gave up just two runs on five hits and six walks in a complete eight innings pitched, while recording nine strikeouts. The nine punchouts is just one off her career-high and moves her into second-place in school history in single season strikeouts with 196. McCarthy is now just seven strikeouts shy of tying Brianna Wells' single season mark of 203.

Jennifer Giles (14-16) took the loss, giving up just three runs on three hits and five walks. She added six strikeouts in 7.1 innings pitched.

Similar to Thursday, Longwood dug itself into an early hole, Natalie Yonan delivered a two-out double down the left field line to score Brittany McPherson and Brook Richardson and give the Buccaneers the 2-0 advantage.

"I thought we were a little off kilter in the first couple of inning, so I didn't really give them instructions," Riley said. "I just wanted them to work into the game themselves and I thought they did a good job."

Longwood tied the score in the bottom of the fourth inning, following a two-out double from Adams down the left field line to score Baltzell and Murpy after they were issued a pair of walks with no out in the inning. The hit from Adams marked her fifth straight in the tournament.

In the seventh inning, Amanda Matsumoto singled up the middle, before Longwood issued an intentional walk to Marci Christian. McCarthy issued an intentional one-out walk to Stephanie Bergmann to load the bases. McCarthy got the second out of the inning with ninth strikeout of the day against Georgi DeLio, before the speedy Matsumoto was called out at the plate on a passed ball to end the inning.

Longwood went to extra innings without winning a game in extra frames all season, but that changed Friday. Baltzell was worked around to start the inning for the fourth time in the game, before Murphy reached on a costly fielding error to give the Lancers runners on first and second. The pair advanced to second and third following a groundout, before Baltzell came home and gave the Lancers the 3-2 win on a wild pitch that got away from Christian.

The Lancers move on to face Coastal Carolina in the tournament semifinals, with first pitch set for 12:30 p.m. Saturday at Amanda Littlejohn Stadium.    

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