LYNCHBURG, Va. – A 2-for-3 day at the plate from freshman Kasey Carr and a go-ahead sixth inning single from Jessica Smith led Longwood to a come-from-behind 3-2 win over Liberty Tuesday night at Liberty Softball Stadium in the opening game of the three-game series.

The pair of hits from Carr gave the Bedford, Va., product her third career multi-hit game of the season, as she played a role in all three Longwood runs scored with two RBI and a double that ultimately led to Leanna Toler coming home as a pinch runner on a Smith single to right field. Carr's two-hit day was part of a Longwood offensive surge that saw seven hits from six different players.

In a matchup between the top-two teams in the Big South preseason rankings, surging Longwood (20-25, 9-7 Big South) matches its longest winning streak of the season with its fourth straight win and fourth comeback win of the season. Liberty (34-19, 15-4 Big South) snaps a two-game winning streak it had coming into the series, putting its bid for a Big South regular season title on hold for at least another day.

"We knew coming in that it was going to be a similar feel as the conference tournament and tonight was certainly a tournament-like game," said Longwood head coach Kathy Riley. "We beat a good team tonight in what was a good softball game played at a high level."

Autumn Bishop and Alexia Taylor each had a pair of hits in the game, recording four of Liberty's five hits on the day.

Elizabeth McCarthy (9-8) earned the win to give the senior southpaw her third win in a stretch of four appearances, dating back to Friday's game against Charleston Southern. McCarthy came on in relief of Sydney Gay to start the fourth inning and tossed four shutout innings, giving up one hit and a pair of walks. Gay started the game and gave up two runs on four hits and a pair of walks in three innings.

Julia DiMartino (16-9) took the loss for the Flames, giving up three unearned runs on seven hits while going the distance in the circle.

Liberty took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning after an Alexia Taylor infield single to first base, as Autumn Bishop came around to score after beating out a throw on an infield single.

The Flames doubled their lead in the third inning, as a Taylor double to left center once again scored Bishop.

The Lancers were able to get a run back in the fourth inning, as Carr singled back up the middle and Jordan Clark slid safely under a tag at the plate.

Longwood took its first lead of the day in the sixth inning with a pair of runs. Carr notched a game-tying double to left field to score Kelly, before Smith recorded a bloop single down the right field line one batter later to score Toler, who came into the game as a pinch hitter.

"I went up there trying to stay calm," Carr said. "I worked on a few things earlier this week and I really focused on being aggressive and having a calm approach."

From there, McCarthy was able to shut the door on the Flames, limiting Liberty to just one hit in the sixth inning.

Longwood and Liberty will conclude the three-game series with a Wednesday doubleheader set for a 5 p.m., first pitch. Game one of the doubleheader will be broadcast on WVHL 92.9 Kickin' Country with the Voice of the Lancers Darius Thigpen on the call.

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