ROCK HILL, S.C. – Longwood earned back-to-back, complete-game shutout wins from freshman pitcher Sydney Gay Friday afternoon to keep its quest for a second straight Big South Championship alive in the semifinals.

Longwood and Coastal Carolina will play an elimination game Saturday, May 14 at either 10 a.m. or 12:30 p.m., depending on the result of the Campbell and Radford semifinal game Friday evening. The Lancers enter tomorrow with a spot in the "Winner Take All" Big South Championship, which is scheduled for 3 p.m., on the line.

Longwood 5, Coastal Carolina 0

Longwood received a second straight complete-game shutout of the day from freshman Sydney Gay to pick up a 5-0 victory over Coastal Carolina Friday afternoon in the Big South semifinals to force an elimination semifinal game tomorrow.

Gay (17-6) tossed another seven innings of shutout ball, giving her 14 consecutive innings without allowing a run Friday, to earn another win and help the Lancers stave off elimination against the regular season runner-up Chanticleers (37-21. In addition, Kelsey Sweeney ripped a two-run home run in the bottom of the fourth inning to finish the day with four RBI.

The Lancers were led offensively by Sweeney for the second straight game, who had her second two-RBI game of the day after hitting a two-RBI double in the elimination bout against Presbyterian.

Longwood took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning, as Krista Kelly led off the frame with a leadoff walk, before Carly Adams got her to third with a single to center field. Kelly came home to score on a squeeze play from Emily Murphy. In the next at-bat, Murphy came home to score on a wild pitch with Kaylynn Batten at the plate to increase the Longwood lead to 2-0.

Sweeney doubled the Lancer advantage with a two-run shot to left field in the fourth inning, which marked her sixth bomb of the season.

Batten added an RBI single with the bases loaded in the fifth inning after she checked her swing, resulting in a base hit up the right side. The single allowed Justina Augustine to come home and extended the Lancer lead to 5-0.

Longwood 4, Presbyterian 0
A dominant 10-strikeout performance by Longwood freshman Sydney Gay and two RBI each from Kelsey Sweeney and Kaylynn Batten guided Longwood to a 4-0 shutout win over Presbyterian in Friday's elimination bout at the Big South Championship.

Longwood (35-18) advances to the Big South semifinals for the fourth straight season since entering the league. It marks the second straight season the Lancers and Chanticleers will meet in the semifinals and the second all-time meeting in the tournament with Longwood winning the lone matchup.

Gay (16-6), who made her first career Big South Tournament start, came up big in the circle for the Lancers with a complete-game shutout, allowing just three Blue Hose hits and only walking three others. Sweeney went 1-for-1 and helped the Lancers get on the board first with a two-RBI double to right center field in the fourth inning, while Batten also had a two-RBI double in the game to keep the squad's championship hopes alive.

With Presbyterian starting pitcher Katie Brown working a no-hitter into the fourth inning, third baseman Karleigh Donovan recorded the Lancers' first hit of the day with a two-out double, before Glenn Walters drew a walk to set up Sweeney's big fourth-inning hit. The sophomore first baseman then delivered a two-out, two-RBI double to bring home pinch-runner Jessica Smith and Walters and put Longwood on top 2-0. 

Batten provided another timely hit an inning later, battling through a 12-pitch at-bat with a two-RBI double down the left field line to score runners from second and third, as Longwood doubled its lead to 4-0. Justina Augustine led off the inning with a hit-by-pitch, before Krista Kelly followed with a bunt single.

Brown (11-13) took the loss for the Blue Hose, giving up four runs on four hits and three walks in 4.2 innings pitched. Sydney Sieglar came on in relief and tossed 1.1 innings, allowing no runs and just one baserunner on a walk and a strikeout.

The Lancers will look to stave off elimination once more against regular season runner-up Coastal Carolina in the semifinals at 4:30 p.m. 

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