FARMVILLE, Va. – A fourth inning, two-run home run from Krista Kelly backed a complete-game, two-hit shutout from sophomore Sydney Gay Sunday afternoon, as the Longwood softball team picked up a 2-0 win in the series finale over Hofstra at Lancer Field.

The win for Gay (6-4) marked her sixth in her last seven starts, as she allowed just two Hofstra baserunners until a one-out Pride rally in the seventh inning. The sophomore and reigning Big South Tournament MVP finished with seven strikeouts while throwing 95 pitches, 61 for strikes.

"We played well in certain spots today," said head coach Kathy Riley. "Our defense played well, but Sydney Gay had a lot to do with that with the way she pitched and I thought Bug did a nice job of calling the game behind the plate. That alleviated a lot of the stress on our defense that we've had in some other games this year."

Gay allowed just four Pride batters to reach base, as she had just four balls leave the infield to take pressure off her defense. It marked the seventh time this season Gay has struck out at least five batters in a game.

"Both, my curveball and riseball were good for me today," Gay said. "I went with a mix of mostly those two pitches. I tried to keep them off balance, because my curveball is slower than my riseball. I also knew they have a lineup that hits well inside, so I tried to throw the curveball off the plate where they couldn't touch it."

For Longwood (6-10), it marks their fifth win in their last eight games, while Hofstra (7-6) snaps a four-game winning streak.

"I thought the most impressive part of what our kids did as a group was that they were able to bounce back after not playing very well yesterday and giving Hofstra a few too many opportunities," Riley said.

Gay outdueled Hofstra's Sarah Cornell (6-1) in the circle, handing the Hofstra freshman her first career loss. Cornell gave up two runs on four hits in 5.0-plus innings, before
being relieved by Jessica Peslak, who threw 1.0 inning and retired all of the batters she faced.

A product of Carrollton, Va., Gay was aided by the second home run of the season for Krista Kelly, who provided all of the run support her pitcher needed. The home run for Kelly extended her hit streak to three games after collecting a trio of hits in Saturday's doubleheader.

"Krista's done a nice job in the weight room over the last couple of years," Riley said. "We're looking for her to be one of our leaders offensively and defensively, because she adds a certain intelligence and swagger to the game that's beneficial to our team."

Karleigh Donovan led Longwood at the plate, finishing 2-for-3 with a double in the fourth inning two batters before Kelly's go-ahead blast to left center field.  Jordan Clark also recorded a hit for the Lancers, finishing 1-for-3 and collecting a hit for the second straight game.

Longwood will have four days off to prepare for the Louisville Slugger Invitational, where the Lancers open play against Eastern Michigan Friday, March 10. First pitch is set for 12 p.m. ET., in Long Beach, Calif.

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