The First Pitch
•   Coming off an opening weekend in which they upset No. 16 Georgia at the Georgia Classic in Athens, Ga., Longwood will hit the road to take part in two tournaments this weekend. The Lancers will play six total games against five teams spread across three consecutive doubleheaders Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
•   The first of those tournaments will be the Gamecock Classic, hosted by No. 18 South Carolina in Columbia, S.C., where the Lancers will face the host Gamecocks twice, and No. 16 Duke and Seton Hall once each Friday and Saturday. Longwood's matchups against the Gamecocks and     Blue Devils will mark the second straight weekend the Lancers have faced a ranked opponent.
•   The Lancers' second tournament appearance will be Sunday when they head to the First Pitch Classic hosted by Charlotte in Charlotte, N.C. There, Longwood will face Charlotte and Western Carolina in a doubleheader.
•   Longwood is under the leadership of first-year head coach
Dr. Megan Brown, whose coaching career has included stints at Auburn, Boston College and Cal. She took over the Lancer program in August of 2020 following the retirement of 820-game winner and three-time Big South Coach of the Year
Kathy Riley.Â
•   The Lancers have won five of the Big South's past seven conference championships, including the league's postseason tournament in 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2019 and regular-season titles in 2015, 2016 and 2019.Â
By The Numbers
•   Longwood is in the midst of a challenging non-conference schedule that includes seven games against teams currently ranked in the USA Today/NFCA Coaches Poll Top 25 and five others against teams who are currently receiving votes. Longwood has already defeated one of those teams after topping No. 16 Georgia 3-2 at last weekend's Georgia Classic.
•   The Lancers will also face No. 14 Virginia Tech, No. 16 Duke and No. 18 South Carolina in non-conference play, along with a combined six games against fellow mid-major powerhouses James Madison and Liberty, both of which are receiving votes in the poll.
•   Ten of Longwood's originally scheduled 35 non-conference games are against teams from the ACC and SEC.Â
•   Longwood returns every member of its starting lineup from a year ago, including the infield trio of third baseman
Mason Basdikis, shortstop
Kasey Carr and utility infielder
Alexis Wayland, who started all 21 games in 2020.
•   Senior right-hander
Sydney Backstrom is filling the workhorse role for the Lancers early in 2021, throwing 16.1 of the team's 25.1 innings. She has made two starts and appeared in each of Longwood's first four games, including her 29th career complete game against Kent State on Feb. 20.
•   Lancer third baseman
Mason Basdikis and designated player
Madison Blair have both reached base safely in eight consecutive games dating back to last season. Blair has reached safely in six of her 12 plate appearances for a team-high .500 on base percentage, while Basdikis has reached in five of her 11 for a .455 on base clip.
•   Utility fielder
Sydney Jacobsen has a three-game hitting streak, during which she is batting .400 (4-of-10) with two RBI, a run and a triple.Â
•   Graduate student
Destiny Martinez tagged Longwood's first home run of the season with a solo shot against Kent State on Feb. 20. The homer was only the second career blast for Martinez, who entered her fifth year as a Lancer ranked sixth on Longwood's all-time stolen base leaderboard.Â
•   Martinez is 52-for-62 all-time stealing bases.
•   Longwood is 122-39 (.758) in Big South play since joining the league in 2013. The Lancers have finished in the top three of the Big South standings every year as a member of the conference, including regular-season titles in 2015, 2016 and 2019.
•   Since making the jump to the Division I level in 2008, Longwood has advanced to five NCAA Regionals. All of those have come by way of the Big South's automatic bid, as the Lancers have won five of the past seven Big South Championship postseason tournaments.
•   Longwood's five NCAA Regional appearances are the second most in Big South history, while their five NCAA Regional victories are a league best.
•   Since joining the Big South, Longwood players have received league-leading 43 All-Big South awards, including first team, second team and honorable mention. The next closest to Longwood is former Big South member Liberty, which has 27.
Quotable
"There was not one person on our team that didn't contribute to today's game. We talk about competing together, and they truly showed the Longwood softball fight and grit."
 — First-year Longwood softball head coach
Dr. Megan Brown after the Lancers' 3-2 upset of No. 16 Georgia Saturday at the Georgia Classic
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