CHARLESTON, S.C. – Longwood equaled its best start to conference play in the Big South era by taking its second straight series with a split of Saturday's doubleheader with Charleston Southern at CSU Softball Field.

Longwood (17-9, 5-1 Big South) captured an 8-3 win to clinch the series in the opening game of the day while Charleston Southern (18-16, 2-4 Big South) took the series finale 4-2 to close out the weekend

With the loss in the second game, Longwood sees its season-best eight-game winning streak come to a close while the Lancers 5-1 start in Big South play marks the third time in six seasons that the squad has opened conference play winning five of their first six games.

"I'm happy to go on the road and win two out of three against a Charleston Southern team that's comfortable playing at home," said Longwood head coach Kathy Riley. "I thought we competed hard in all three games."

Kasey Carr led the way for Longwood at the plate finishing the two games 5-of-5 while reaching base in all seven of her plate appearances. The performance from Carr helped her raise her batting average to .354 after she came into the day batting .279.

"I think what's helped Kasey is that she's gotten the chance to play more," Riley said. "She's been able to gain more confidence and she's really enjoying the opportunity to get out there to compete for us."

With the pair of multi-hit games, Carr now has five multi-hit games this season. The Bedford, Va., product has collected hits in 11 of her last 12 games to lift herself to the second-highest batting average on the team this season.

"I've definitely gotten more comfortable," Carr said. "I'm just stepping into the batter's box trying to get a hit each opportunity that I have to help my team be successful."

Jordan Clark had three combined hits throughout the two games while Jenna Dunn, Jessica Smith and Destiny Martinez had a hit in each of the two games. Kaylynn Batten also had a pair of hits throughout the afternoon.

All four of Longwood's pitchers saw action in Saturday's doubleheader and combined to allow six earned runs throughout the two games. Longwood's pitchers finished with a combined nine strikeouts, as Sydney Gay led the way with seven.

With her combined seven strikeouts in Sunday's game, Gay collected her 400th career strikeout, moving seven shy of matching the 409 career punchouts collected by Jen Steele for third place all-time on Longwood's career strikeout list.

Longwood will return to Lancer Field Tuesday, March 27 to host Virginia Tech. That doubleheader is set for a 4 p.m. first pitch and will be broadcast on the Big South Network.

Longwood 8, Charleston Southern 3

A four-run sixth inning and a 3-for-3 day with two RBI and a run scored lifted Longwood to an 8-3 win over Charleston Southern in the opening game of the day.

Carr went 3-for-3 in the game to collect her fourth multi-hit performance of the season and match her career-high. The Bedford, Va. product brought home a pair of runs and scored a run, as she headlined a group of three Lancers to record multiple hits.

Jordan Clark went 2-for-4 atop the lineup while clubbing her team-leading seventh home run of the season while Kaylynn Batten was 2-for-4 to collect her second consecutive multi-hit game.

Destiny Martinez hit her first career home run – a solo shot in the first inning to straight away center field – while Krista Kelly, Jessica Smith and Jenna Dunn also collected hits.

Sydney Gay (11-5) picked up the win in the circle, coming on in relief of Sydney Backstrom and pitch 2.2 innings while giving up one hit and walking a pair. Gay added four
strikeouts, retiring nine of the 12 batters she faced.

Backstrom earned the start and she gave up three runs on four hits and three walks in 2.1 innings. The start was just the third of the season that Backstrom has yielded three or more runs.

Sydney Mundell pitched the final two innings, retiring six of the batters she faced while throwing 31 pitches, 21 for strikes.

For the second straight day, Longwood chased Charleston Southern starter Holly Clark out of the circle in the first inning. The Lancers scored two runs off Clark on three hits and a pair of walks. Clark threw 33 pitches, 19 for strikes.

The loss went to Charleston Southern's Emily Visnic (0-2) who gave up two runs on three hits and four walks while striking out a pair.

Charleston Southern 4, Longwood 2

A pair of home runs from Caitlyn Emberson and Taylor Gleason helped Charleston Southern to a 4-2 win in the series finale over Longwood.

The Lancers scored a pair in the seventh with a Jessica Smith home run and sent the go-ahead run to the plate.

Arizona Pilgrim (7-7) picked up the win while throwing six-plus innings and giving up two runs on five hits and a pair of walks while striking out three batters.

Sydney Gay (11-6) got the start in the circle for Longwood, giving up two runs on two hits and a pair of walks. She added three strikeouts in the game while taking the loss and snapping her seven-game win streak.

Sydney Backstrom came on in relief of Gay and gave up one run on one hit while striking out one batter. In addition, Arleigh Wood worked the final two innings, allowing one unearned run on two hits and a walk. Wood also added the strikeout.

Kasey Carr enjoyed her second straight multi-hit day, going 2-for-2 with a run scored. She had two of Longwood's six hits throughout

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