LONG BEACH, Calif. – A strong pitching performance against Eastern Michigan by Sydney Gay in game one propelled Longwood to take the first game of the day, 8-1, before No. 10 UCLA used a seven-run first inning to beat the Lancers, 8-0 in five innings, as Longwood split a pair of games in their first of three games at the Louisville Slugger Invitational Friday at the 49er Softball Complex.
 
Sydney Gay (7-5) was the starter and the pitcher of record in each game, beating Eastern Michigan (6-7) in game one and shouldering the loss against UCLA (18-5) in game two. Kaylynn Batten went 2-for-3 with an RBI and two walks between the two games, the lone player for Longwood (7-11) with multiple hits Friday.

"We played a very solid game this morning against Eastern Michigan," Riley said. "We had a good pitching performance by Sydney [Gay] and some strong defense from Kasey Carr along with two very nice plays by Haleigh Kilby. Our afternoon game against UCLA didn't start the way we wanted, but we understand that playing top 10 teams means that you have to play at an even higher level."
 
Longwood continues play at the Louisville Slugger Invitational with a pair of games Saturday. Longwood plays against San Diego State at 3:30 p.m. and then wraps up the day with a 6 p.m. game against Cal State Fullerton, both games at Anderson Family Field in Fullerton, Calif.

"We play two challenging games tomorrow and what I want most is good, tough softball from Longwood," Riley said
 
Longwood 8, Eastern Michigan 1
 
Timely hitting helped Longwood take advantage of opportunities as the Lancers powered their way to an 8-1 win against Eastern Michigan Friday morning in their first game of the Louisville Slugger Invitational.

Longwood (7-10) scored three runs in each of the first two innings on just three hits, taking advantage of mistakes by Eastern Michigan (6-7) en route to the win.
 
Gay picked up her seventh win in a span of eight starts by holding Eastern Michigan to one run on seven hits with one walk and six strikeouts in 6.0 innings of work.
 
Gay continues a hot stretch, allowing just a pair of earned runs across her last four starts with at least five strikeouts in each of those outings.
 
Longwood built a six-run lead in the first two innings, handing the reigning Big South Tournament MVP a 6-0 lead before her first turn through the order.
 
Longwood was led at the plate by Karleigh Donovan, who had a three-RBI day, and Destiny Martinez, who scored a pair of runs for the Lancers.
 
Donovan extended her hitting streak to three, handing the Lancers a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning with a two-run triple to left-center field. Jordan Clark followed up with an RBI single to batters later to plate Donovan.
 
An inning later, in the home half of the second inning, Kasey Carr hit her first career home run, an inside-the-park homer. Later in the inning Donovan picked up her third RBI of the game on a sacrifice fly and Krista Kelly also scored in the inning on an error.
 
After Eastern Michigan picked up a run in the third inning, Glenn Walters put the Lancer advantage back to six on her first home run of the season, sending out an opposite-field blast over the left field wall, giving Longwood its first multi-homer game of the season. Batten drove in the final run, driving in a run on an RBI single in the sixth inning to finish the game 1-for-2.
 
Abbie Minsker (2-1) took the loss for Eastern Michigan, allowing three runs, all unearned, recording just one out in the first inning with two walks issued and two hits allowed.
 
Eastern Michigan was led at the plate by Brandice Olmos, who went 3-for-3 with the lone RBI of the day, a single in the third inning.
 
No. 10 UCLA 8, Longwood 0 F/5
 
Brianna Tautalafua hit a three-run home run in the first inning, highlighting a seven-run rally in the first inning for No. 10 UCLA Friday evening as the Bruins knocked off Longwood, 8-0, in the second game of the day for the Lancers.
 
Gay didn't have the success she found in game one, facing a daunting UCLA lineup that combined for 12 hits and had three players pick up two or more hits. The sophomore right-hander allowed five runs, all earned, on five hits with one walk in 0.2 innings of work.
 
Johanna Grauer (6-1) picked up the win after pitching the first four innings of a shutout. She held Longwood to one hit and issued two walks, while collecting three strikeouts.
 
Batten was the lone Lancer to pick up a hit against Grauer. The sophomore catcher drew a walk and was 1-for-1 in the loss, climbing her batting average back above .300 after it dipped down to .295 following the series against Hofstra.
 
Sydney Mundell pitched the majority of the game for Longwood, holding UCLA to one run in 4.1 innings of work, her second-longest outing of the season.
 
UCLA started the game with three straight singles by Delaney Spaulding, Kylee Perez, Paige Halstead, and Madeline Jelenicki, building a 2-0 lead on RBI singles by Halstead and Jelenicki. Tautalafua put the UCLA lead to 5-0 with her three-run home run.
 
Perez finished the game 4-for-4 with a double while Spaulding and Jelenicki were each 2-for-3.
 
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