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FARMVILLE, Va. – The Longwood softball team combined for 20 hits en route to capturing a doubleheader sweep over Campbell Friday night at Lancer Field.

The Lancers (11-8, 2-0 Big South) utilized a five-run third inning to win the first game of the doubleheader, 7-2, before recording four extra base hits to take the second game, 6-1.

"We were able to hit the ball harder than what we have," said head coach Kathy Riley. "What I really liked about us offensively was that we attacked the ball. We were able to put ourselves in position to get more hits tonight and not wait around as much as we've been doing."

Emily Murphy led the Lancers at the plate on a day where 11 different players recorded hits, including six players with multi-hit days. Murphy went 4-for-5 at the plate with four singles, while adding a pair of RBI, one run scored and a single. Murphy raised her batting average from .271 to finish the day with a team-leading .321 average.

"I struggled a little in the beginning of the season, so it just took hard work to get there," Murphy said of raising her batting average. "I'll continue to work and try to get better, but I'm happy with tonight."

In addition, Murphy was able to show off her glove with several strong plays in the field.

"We had really strong defense in the infield," Riley praised. "Emily [Murphy] was outstanding in the field. She had a lot of chances and made every play. Carly [Adams] was also very good."

Longwood's pitching staff, ranked among the top-30 in the NCAA coming into the weekend with a 2.25-team ERA, was not to be outdone. Longwood's four pitchers held the Camels to just six hits on the evening, three runs, including just two earned.

"We had strong pitching throughout the night," Riley said. "We didn't give them many hits in either game, so I thought we did a pretty good job keeping them at bay."

While recording the win in game two of the day, junior Elizabeth McCarthy became the third pitcher in program history to eclipse the 400 strikeout mark. She finished the night with eight strikeouts, 407 for her career, and needs three to pass her former assistant coach Jen Steele on Longwood's all-time career strikeout list with 409.

It's pretty awesome," McCarthy said of achieving her 400th career strikeout. "Honestly, I didn't really know about it."

With its two victories Friday night, Longwood wins its first conference series of the season and extends its streak to nine straight best-of-three game series wins against Big South opponents dating back to the 2014 season.

Longwood goes for its first three-game series sweep over the Camels (11-14, 0-2 BSC) Saturday, as first pitch has been moved to 11 a.m. The game will be broadcast on the Big South Network.

Longwood 7, Campbell 2
A five-run third inning in which the Lancers notched seven hits led Longwood to a 7-2 victory in the opening game of the evening.

Eight of the nine players in the starting lineup recorded hits in the game with Murphy and Jamie Barbour each recording a multi-hit game. Murphy went 2-for-3 with two RBI and a run scored, while Barbour was 2-for-3 with a pair of runs.

"I think we're barely starting to scratch the surface on what we can do as a group," Riley said. "Our best softball is still out in front of us. We're still a couple weeks away, but I did see better swings and people were more comfortable at the plate."

Sydney Gay (4-3) captured the win, coming on in relief and going 3.2 innings, allowing one run on two hits and a pair of walks. She also added a pair of strikeouts.

McCarthy started the game, tossing 1.1 innings before getting pulled in the second. She gave up just one run, unearned, on one hit, while issuing three free passes.

Sydney Mundell also came on in relief for Gay to start the sixth. Mundell worked two innings without allowing a hit or a walk, while striking out two of the six batters she faced. She lowered her ERA to 0.88 on the season.

Tied coming into the third inning, Longwood batted around and recorded seven straight singles to break the game open. The Lancers, who scored on a double steal earlier in the game, were active on the base paths, swiping three bags in the inning.

Katie Baker (2-6) suffered the loss for Campbell, giving up five runs, all earned, on seven hits and a pair of walks in 5.2 innings.

Longwood 6, Campbell 1
Longwood combined for four extra base hits, including a pair of doubles and a pair of home runs en route to a 6-1 victory over Campbell in the second game of the evening.

Mariah Ellis and Kelsey Sweeney cemented the game with back-to-back homers in the sixth inning. For Ellis, it marked her first hit in a Longwood uniform, while it was the first home run of the season for both players. For Sweeney, it was part of a 2-for-3 evening at the plate with a pair of runs scored and a pair of RBI. She was one of two Lancers with a multi-hit game, as Murphy added two hits of her own.

"Seeing Kelsey [Sweeney] get her first home run of the year and Mariah [Ellis] to get her first career home run is pretty sweet," Riley said.

In the circle, McCarthy and Jenna Carnes combined to give up just one run on three hits. McCarthy (6-5) picked up the win, giving up one run on three hits and a pair of walks, while fanning five batters in four innings of work. Carnes came on to pitch the final three innings to pick up the save, allowing just one baserunner.

Courtney Roberts took the loss for the Camels, going 5.1 and giving up six runs, four earned, on nine hits and a pair of walks.

Longwood, for the second straight game, had to comeback after Campbell opened the scoring, as Madison Casto scored on a ball hit by Amber Schisler into the gap in left center field.

Longwood tied the score in the bottom half of the inning after Carly Adams doubled on a 2-2 pitch to bring home Walters – who extended her streak to 21 games straight to reach base safely.

The Lancers took advantage of a pair of Campbell errors the following inning. Kelsey Sweeney hit a ball into left field where Campbell left fielder Christa Hall overthrew Rachel McCollum at third base trying to get Krista Kelly, the lead runner, on the play. Kelly then scored after McCollum overthrew Bjorson at the plate and that allowed Sweeney to wind up on third base.

The Longwood sophomore scored one batter later, as Jordan Clark ripped the first pitch she saw back up the middle to bring home Sweeney.

The blue and white padded its lead two innings later. After Kelly was issued a six-pitch walk, Ellis gave the fourth pitch of her at-bat deep to left center field for her first career homer. That was followed by Sweeney's blast on the very next pitch.

Carnes completed the performance with a clean seventh inning to give Longwood its second straight victory.

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