Longwood University Athletics

FARMVILLE, Va. — Longwood softball has dominated the Big South Conference since its debut season in the league in 2013, rewriting the conference's record books by winning five of the past seven Big South championships. Wednesday the Lancers further cemented themselves as a conference dynasty by taking over the Big South Softball All-Decade Team with a league-high seven selections. 

Six former Longwood players and head coach Kathy Riley were all named to the 2010-19 Big South Softball All-Decade Team, giving the Lancers nearly an entire starting nine to themselves. Representing the Lancers on the 23-player list were two-time Big South Pitcher of the Year Elizabeth 'Biz' McCarthy, two-time Big South Player of the Year Megan Baltzell, four-time All-Big South pitcher and Big South Tournament MVP Sydney Gay, four-time All-Big South designated player Karleigh Donovan, four-time All-Big South shortstop Emily Murphy and three-time All-Big South outfielder Jordan Clark.
 
Longwood's six player selections were the most of any conference foe, surpassing Coastal Carolina's four picks and Charleston Southern, Liberty and Radford's three. Riley took the honor as the all-decade team's coach, doing so on the strength of those five aforementioned Big South Championships, three Big South Coach of the Year awards, and Longwood's six all-decade team selections, of which she recruited and coached every one.
 
Longwood's takeover of the Big South All-Decade Team is the latest byproduct of an eight-year run through the conference that has been nothing short of dominant. Along with the five Big South Championships and accompanying NCAA Regional berths, the Lancers have won 45 of their past 53 Big South series, amassed a 122-39 (.758) league record and hauled in 44 All-Big South recognitions – all Big South bests from 2010-19 despite missing the first three years of that 10-year span.
 
In Longwood's seven-plus seasons in the Big South, all under 23rd-year Longwood head coach Riley, the team has had players earn three Big South Players of the Year honors, two Pitcher of the Year awards and five Big South Tournament MVP recognitions. Twice the Lancers have won 20 Big South games in a season, during their championships runs in 2015 and 2019, and have performed even better in the postseason where they are 24-8 in the Big South Championship tournament.

The seven Lancers selected to the Big South All-Decade Team is tied for the second-most selections in conference history for one team represented on the All-Decade Team. Those seven honorees add to Longwood's already growing list of Big South All-Decade Team selections from the school's first decade in the conference, joining women's soccer standouts Amanda Spencer and Sydney Wallace, men's tennis ace Amadeo Blasco, and women's lacrosse stalwart Shiloh McKenzie, who were all named to their respective teams earlier this month.

Megan Baltzell
Catcher
Stafford, Virginia

Longwood's first Division I All-American alongside her former teammate Brooke Short, Megan Baltzell finished her career among the top 10 in NCAA history with a Big South-record 76 home runs. Baltzell left Farmville as the program's all-time leader in career home runs (76), walks (166), RBI (230), hits, runs scored (242), slugging percentage (.870) and on-base percentage (.539). 

Baltzell's three seasons in the Big South Conference resulted in two Big South Championships, two Big South Player of the Year selections, and three All-Big South selections. The slugger's first season in the Big South Conference ended as the NCAA Statistical Champion for Home Runs with 30 in her sophomore season, propelling her to become Longwood's first D-I All-American when she and Short both received that milestone recognition.

The Stafford, Va., native's sophomore season was one for the record books as Baltzell also set the conference and program records for total bases in a season (184) and single-season slugging percentage (.984). With runners in scoring position, Baltzell flourished, setting Longwood's single-season RBI record with 78. 

From 2012-2015 Baltzell left her mark as one of the best offensive weapons in program history, finishing with a career batting average of .401, with all three of her Big South Conference seasons above a .400 average. Baltzell's power not only resulted in 76 home runs but 57 doubles and seven triples. The leading home run hitter in program history also put the ball in play with 256 hits, while striking out only 85 times in 638 trips to the plate. Away from the plate, Baltzell got it done defensively for the Lancers with a fielding percentage of .979 percent, committing only 24 errors with 1,003 putouts. 

Jordan Clark
Outfielder
Midlothian, Virginia

A three-time Big South Champion, Jordan Clark was a four-year centerpiece of Longwood's outfield with 173 starts and 195 appearances during her time in Farmville. Clark, a three-time All-Big South selection, enjoyed a breakout sophomore season with the Lancers in which she was named second-team All-Big South in 2017, leading Longwood with a team-best 26 RBI.

The Midlothian, Va., product hit .320 in her final season in a Lancer uniform and was among the top 10 in the Big South with 40 RBI, 11 doubles and 89 total bases while hitting a team-leading .376 with runners on base and .439 with runners in scoring position, leading the Lancers to their fifth Big South Championship in seven seasons. 

Clark ended her career as a .288 hitter while recording 162 hits and scoring 103 runs. The 5-7 outfielder showed pop at the plate with 20 home runs, and 30 doubles, while snagging 38 stolen bases. Clark brought more to the Lancers than just offense, finishing her career with a .965 fielding percentage, recording only eight errors with 214 career putouts.

Karleigh Donovan
Designated Player
Dinwiddie, Virginia

One of the best pure hitters in the Big South, four-time All-Big South selection Karleigh Donovan punctuated her Longwood career as the 2019 Big South Tournament MVP. The four-time Big South Champion finished her Longwood career with a .317 batting average, hitting .300 or better in three of four seasons in Farmville. 

Donovan capped her Lancer career with her best season as a senior, batting a career-best .348 from the plate with 62 hits. In her Big South Championship swan song, she went 8-for-12 at the plate in the tournament with three multi-hit games en route to earning Big South Tournament MVP honors in 2019. She added two RBI and three runs scored while hitting .667 overall in the Big South Tournament to power Longwood to its fifth Big South Championship in seven seasons. 

Donovan, a member of the Lancers from 2015-2019, finished her Longwood career with a .317 batting average while accumulating 207 hits in 222 appearances for the Lancers. A starter in 219 contests, she scored 80 runs and knocked in 112 RBI while recording 15 home runs and 36 doubles.
 
Sydney Gay
Pitcher
Carrollton, Virginia

Right-handed starting pitcher Sydney Gay was a force in the circle for four years and finished her impressive career with the Lancers as one of three pitchers in program history to accumulate 70-plus wins and 550-plus strikeouts. Gay, a four-time All-Big South performer, is one of only 21 players in Big South history to earn All-Big South accolades in each of her four seasons. 

A three-time Big South Champion, Gay made an immediate impact for the Lancers in her freshman campaign in 2016 when she was named Big South Tournament MVP and to the Big South All-Tournament Team. She went on to put forth her best season in 2018, finishing runner-up in the Big South Pitcher of the Year voting as one of just two pitchers in the Big South with a sub-2.00 ERA through at least 150 innings on the mound. That season she ranked among the Big South's top three in nearly every pitching category, including tied for first in starts (33), second in wins (25), opponent batting average (.204), appearances (43), and third in ERA (1.97) and innings pitched (209.2).

From 2016-2019, Gay amassed 157 appearances in the circle for the Lancers with 115 starts. She recorded 72 wins with a career ERA of 2.24 and a staggering 585 strikeouts, accumulating 739.2 innings of work for Longwood.

Elizabeth McCarthy
Pitcher
Dunnsville, Virginia 

The 2015 and 2016 Big South Pitcher of the Year, Elizabeth McCarthy became the fifth pitcher in Big South history to capture back-to-back Big South Pitcher of the Year accolades and finished her phenomenal career with Longwood as one of the best to ever step in the circle for the Lancers. 

Longwood's all-time career strikeout holder with 654, McCarthy also finds herself second on Longwood's career win list with an astonishing 76 wins, concluded her career in the top 10 in Big South history in career strikeouts and wins. 

A three-time Big South Champion, McCarthy was named 2017 Big South Tournament MVP with a 3-0 showing in the Big South Tournament. One of 21 players in Big South history to earn All-Big South accolades in each of her four seasons, she finished her senior season with All-Big South first-team honors and runner-up in the voting for what would have been her third Big South Pitcher of the Year. 

McCarthy finished her career at Longwood with 117 starts in 152 appearances in the circle with 76 wins, amassing a program-best 654 strikeouts in 736.2 innings of work for the Lancers. 

Emily Murphy 
Infielder
Virginia Beach, Virginia

One of the best to ever play shortstop for the Lancers, Emily Murphy finished her Longwood career with three straight All-Big South first-team selections and was one of 21 players in league history to earn All-Big South accolades in each of her four seasons. Murphy, a three-time Big South Champion, started every game in four seasons at shortstop and sits atop Longwood record book in career games played with 236.

The Virginia Beach, Va., native finished her historic career with the Lancers fourth in Big South history in career RBI (192) and tied for sixth in runs scored (182) and home runs (50). Murphy's 192 RBI rank third all-time at Longwood, while she also ranks fourth all-time in program history in stolen bases with 66. 

Murphy was part of Longwood's first recruiting class to play all four seasons in the Big South and the group that remains the program's all-time winningest class with 155 wins and three Big South titles. The centerpiece for the Lancers' infield, Murphy was a member of each of Longwood's three 40-win teams in 2013, 2014, and 2016. She and her class's success carried over into NCAA play, becoming the first class to capture three career NCAA Tournament wins. 

Murphy finished with a .309 batting average in the batter's box, including a career-best .356 average her senior season. She amassed 212 hits and became the third player in program history with 50 home runs. 

In 2017 Murphy returned to the Lancers as a member of the coaching staff and primarily works the middle infielders and assists with hitting instruction.

Kathy Riley
Head Coach 
Dayton, Ohio 

The architect of the Longwood softball dynasty, head coach Kathy Riley is a five-time Big South Champion and three-time Big South Coach of the Year since the Lancers joined the Big South in 2013. Riley has spent 23 of her 27 seasons as head coach with the Lancers, during which she has amassed a 722-400-1 record without a single season below .500. 

During Longwood's eight seasons in the Big South, Riley has compiled a record of 122-39 in the regular season while winning 45 of the 53 regular-season series, including 25 series sweeps in league play. She has taken the Lancers to five NCAA Regionals, in 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2019 with Big South Championships in each of those years. Longwood has reached 30 wins 16 times, including all seven years as a member of the Big South with three 40-win seasons.

Longwood's players have also become equally decorated in Riley's tenure, with two Lancers earning All-America honors in Megan Baltzell and Brooke Short, three earning Big South Player or Pitcher of the Year in Baltzell, Short, and Elizabeth McCarthy, and nearly two dozen receiving All-Big South recognition. 

2010-19 SOFTBALL ALL-DECADE TEAM PRESENTED BY HERCULES TIRES

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