BUIES CREEK, N.C. – Longwood softball is headed back to the Big South Championship game for the first time since 2017.
Keyed by a fourth-inning grand slam from graduate transfer
Chelsea Whitcomb, the top-seeded Lancers had four of their five hits on the day against USC Upstate and Big South Pitcher of the Year Christina Biggerstaff en route to a 4-2 win over the Spartans Friday afternoon at Amanda Littlejohn Stadium.
The victory puts Longwood one win away from winning its fifth Big South Championship, as the Lancers (36-19)advance to its fifth Big South Championship game since entering the league prior to the 2013 season and the first since capturing the tournament crown during the 2017 season at Lancer Field.
The grand slam is the third that Longwood has hit on the season and the second that the Lancers have hit against Biggerstaff this season with the first coming off the bat of
Alexis Wayland in game one of the series earlier this season in Farmville.
"Today was two very good teams battling hard," You could tell by the way they played. We were fortunate for Chelsea to get a big time hit for us in a critical situation. Her mindset in that at-bat was different, she did a good job in trusting her ability."
The second home run of the season for Whitcomb came one inning after USC Upstate (41-14) increased a lead to 2-0 on a RBI double from Megan Obier
Whitcomb's blast supported a complete-game effort from All-Big South first team performer
Sydney Backstrom, who allowed two runs on five hits while striking out eight batters.
Backstrom retired the final 10 batters she faced, including all nine she faced following the Whitcomb home run.
"After the first two innings, Sydney got stronger and stronger as the game wore along," Riley said. "You could see her gain more confidence in what she was doing. She did a great job of mixing up her pitches and keeping Upstate off balance, especially in the final two or three innings."
Backstrom (18-10) earned her second career Big South Tournament win in the outing, as her 14th complete-game of the season hands the sophomore her fifth win in her last six starts with a no-hitter and two complete game shutouts in that span.
One day after going 3-fo-3 at the plate,
Karleigh Donovan added her second multi-hit game of the tournament with a 2-for-3 effort with a run scored. Whitcomb,
Kaylynn 'Bug' Batten, and
Kasey Carr also added hits for the Lancers, as
Jordan Clark's 20-game hitting streak comes to a close.
Biggerstaff (26-5) took the loss, tossing six innings and allowing four runs on five hits while walking one batter and throwing 78 pitches, 62 for strikes.
Sarah Price had two of USC Upstate's three hits on the day.
In the Big South Championship game, Longwood will face No. 4 seed Winthrop in Saturday for a game that has been moved up to a 10 p.m., first pitch.
"I think tomorrow is going to be a big challenge because Winthrop has solid pitching. We have to make sure that we're ready to go," Riley said.
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