WILMINGTON, N.C. – Maine cleanup batter Maddie Decker hit a walk-off three-run home run to lift the Black Bears past the Longwood softball team 6-4 Sunday morning at Bozeman Field.
 
That hit was the only hit of the day for Decker, as Maine (3-2) scattered six hits against Longwood (6-4) pitching and took advantage of three Lancer errors. Three of those six hits came off the bat of Maine center fielder Rachel Carlson, who was 3-for-4 with an RBI and run scored.
 
"The game today was lost by poor execution," said Longwood head coach Kathy Riley. "Anytime you go into the last inning with a one-run lead and your most experienced pitcher on the mound, you expect to win."
 
Longwood scattered three hits in the game and took advantage of three Maine errors with a three-run fourth inning in the losing cause. Jordan Clark, Jessica Smith and Jenna Dunn led the Lancers offensively, each recording a hit.
 
"We had numerous opportunities all game long both offensively and defensively to put the game away without coming through," Riley said.
 
Clark's hit was her eighth of the tournament, as the 2017 second-team All-Big South honoree had hits in each of Longwood's five games to raise her batting average to .361 for the season.
 
Annie Kennedy (1-0) tossed the final four innings to record the win, allowing one Longwood baserunner in that span while adding a strikeout. She relieved Kyleigh O'Donnell, who was tagged for three runs on a hit and two walks in one-plus inning of work after coming on in relief of Molly Flowers in the third inning.
 
Flowers got the start in the Black Bear circle, yielding one run on two hits and a walk while striking out a pair in two innings.
 
Coming off a complete-game shutout performance Saturday against Bucknell, Sydney Gay (3-2) came on in relief of Longwood starter Sydney Backstrom in the fifth inning. Gay took the loss, giving up three runs, two earned on two hits and three walks in 1.2 innings.
 
Making her fourth start, Backstrom allowed three runs, one earned, on four hits and a pair of walks in 4.2 innings. She also added a strikeout while throwing 78 pitches, 48 for strikes.
 
Longwood will now turn its attention to a pair of tournaments in Hawai'i, as the Lancers will play 11 games in a 10-day span in the Aloha State beginning with a doubleheader with UTEP and Hawai'i Thursday, March 1.
 
"Our challenge is to pull things together and be ready this Thursday which I consider to be one of the best parts of being in the athletic arena," Riley said.
 
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