CLINTON, S.C. – Longwood softball is Big South regular season champions.

Longwood (33-16, 19-4 Big South) wins its third Big South regular season championship in five years and the first since winning back-to-back titles in 2015 and 2016. Longwood secured a series win over every conference opponent it faced on the season, winning 18 straight series wins dating back to the 2017 season against Presbyterian (11-39-2, 1-21 Big South).

"I told our team that it's much more difficult when you're the ones being chased," said Longwood head coach Kathy Riley. "It's much easier when you're trying to establish yourself as a good team and earn the respect from others. Now we're getting everybody's best shot and it's more difficult. It's something that we've had to learn how to handle and I'm proud of our team for winning the conference's regular season."

Sydney Backstrom tossed a complete-game shutout in a 8-0 win in game one of the series, before Sydney Jacobsen delivered the go-ahead single in the eighth inning to lift the Lancers to a 3-2 win in the second game of the day Saturday at PC Softball Complex.

That hit from Jacobsen highlighted a pair of multi-hit games for the freshman, as she finished the day 5-for-7 at the dish with a pair of RBI and a run scored. Kaylynn 'Bug' Batten went 4-for-6 with three RBI, two runs scored, while Jordan Clark recorded a hit in each game to extend her hitting streak to 15 straight games.

"What Sydney has done at a really high level over the past couple weeks is handle the pressure situations well," Riley said.

In the circle, Backstrom and Sydney Gay allowed just two runs throughout the day, as Presbyterian's Macy Hyatt launched a two-out home run in the seventh inning of game two to force extra innings. Throughout the two games, Longwood pitching yielded just eight hits in the two games, limiting the Blue Hose to a .168 batting clip.  

The complete-game shutout for Backstrom is her third in her last seven games, as she's two games removed from her first career no-hitter Tuesday afternoon against Hampton. In that stretch, Backstrom has pitched to a 0.93 ERA and has gone 6-1 in her outings with a .150 batting average against.

"Both of our pitchers were terrific today," Riley said. "Neither of them got in too many jams where they got behind hitters. Both girls had excellent control and handled themselves professionally on the mound from the beginning to end."

Longwood looks to complete the series sweep Sunday, as the series finale is set for a 1 p.m. first pitch.

"Now, everything that we do will be preparation for the conference tournament," Riley said. "Momentum is a big deal but we're going to treat our game tomorrow and next week against Virginia Tech and Liberty like we're getting ready for the conference tournament."

Longwood 8, Presbyterian 0

Backstrom tossed a three-hit, complete game shutout as Longwood rolled past Presbyterian 8-0 Saturday

Backstrom (16-8) picked up her seventh win in her last eight outings, allowing three hits and facing four batters above the minimum.

Three different Lancers collected multi-hit games, including three hits each for Jenna Dunn and Sydney Jacobsen. Dunn finished a triple away from the cycle with a double and her fourth home run of the season, as scored two runs and added an RBI. Jacobsen also added one run, one RBI while Kaylynn 'Bug' Batten also collected two hits in the outing.

Jordan Clark extended her hitting streak to 15 straight games, as she scored a run and was one of five different Lancers to combine for 10 hits.

Taylor Ward (4-17) took the loss for Presbyterian, allowing six runs, five earned, on seven hits and a walk in 2.1 innings. Courtney White also made an appearance, allowing two runs, one earned, on three hits in 4.2 innings.

Jonnie Petree, Courtney White and Chelsea Lyons each had a hit in the game for the Blue Hose.

Longwood 3, Presbyterian 2 (8)

Presbyterian's Macy Hyatt blasted a game-tying two-run home run with two outs in the seventh inning to force extra innings before Jacobsen delivered with a go-ahead and eventual game-winning single in Longwood's 3-2 win over Presbyterian in the second game of the day.

The hit from Jacobsen was part of a two-hit game for the freshman, as she drove in Chelsea Whitcomb after Batten reached on an infield single.

She paced the Longwood offense along with Batten, who finished 2-for-3, as Longwood had six players combine for eight hits. Batten broke a scoreless game with her RBI triple in the fifth inning before she was brought home by Karleigh Donovan.

Sydney Gay (11-8) got the win in the circle with a complete-game effort in which she yielded two runs on five hits and a walk while matching her season-high with eight strikeouts.
Sarah Ramsbottom (1-4) took the loss, giving up three runs on eight hits and two walks in 8.0 innings.

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