RADFORD, Va. –  Sophomore Sydney Backstrom tossed her first career complete-game shutout, as the Longwood softball team earned a 4-0 win over Radford Thursday afternoon at Radford Softball Stadium.

The win for Longwood (26-13, 12-1 Big South) is its fifth straight and 12th win in the past 14 games, as it brings Longwood head coach Kathy Riley to within one win of her 26-year head coaching career at Mount Olive and Longwood. The loss for the Highlanders (18-23, 8-5 Big South) is their third in the past four games.

"For us to come on the road and come away with a win is a big deal," said Longwood head coach Kathy Riley. "Radford always plays hard. [Radford head coach] Hope [Creasy] does a good job and she's very competitive. We have to be happy with a win today."

Backstrom (11-7) was dominant in the circle in picking up the win, allowing only two hits and facing four batters over the minimum while throwing 103 pitches, 63 for strikes.

The game for Backstrom was her first complete-game shutout, as she retired 14 in a row from the final out of the second inning until a one-out walk in the seventh inning. The performance for the sophomore is her seventh game of the season allowing two runs or less.

"She kept a good hitting team off balance today," Riley said of Backstrom's effort. "She gave us an opportunity to put a couple things together and get ahead. She was fantastic today, especially in the last four innings which is something that she's worked on lately to improve."

Longwood scored four runs on seven hits with Jordan Clark extending her hitting streak to five games, as she notched her third straight multi-hit performance while Jessica Smith launched her first home run of the season to plate a pair in the second inning.

Over her last seven games, the red-hot Clark has hit .370 with three multi-hit games in that stretch to go with eight runs, eight RBI, three doubles, two home runs and a double. That stretch has raised Clark's batting average to .313 for the season.

"Jordan has been consistent for us all year," Riley said. "She's makes adjustments as good as any player that we've had within a game. She competes every single at-bat and the results are a product of the way she's approaching the game." 

Kayla Huffman (9-11) took the loss for Radford, pitching six innings and allowing four runs, three earned, on five hits and a strikeout. Hannah Morris also made an appearance, throwing the final inning.

Hannah Medlam and Talia Douglas each recorded a hit for Radford to lead the Highlanders offensively.

Longwood returns to Lancer Field for a weekend series against Charleston Southern. That series is set to get underway Saturday, April 13 at 1 p.m. with a doubleheader. The Lancers will also honor their six seniors – Kaylynn 'Bug' Batten, Jordan Clark, Karleigh Donovan, Sydney Gay, Jessica Smith, Chelsea Whitcomb -- prior to Saturday's doubleheader.

"I'd like for us to be ready and be focused," Riley said. "It's a big series for our team and I want to see us play well for the girls that have been part of our program for four years."

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