CHARLOTTE, N.C. – If iron sharpens iron, then Longwood softball will be anything but dull after the first two weeks of the season.
 
Concluding a season-opening stretch that has seen them play half of their games against nationally-ranked teams, the Lancers (2-8) fell in their third doubleheader of the weekend, 4-1 to host Charlotte and 6-4 to Western Carolina at the First Pitch Classic at the Phillips Complex.
 
The losses came despite a combined 8.0 strong innings across both games from Longwood senior ace Sydney Backstrom, and 3.1 innings of one-run ball from game-two starter Arleigh Wood. Backstrom, in her team-leading seventh and eighth appearances of the season, scattered four runs in 6.0 innings of a complete-game performance against Charlotte in Sunday's opener and followed with 2.0 hitless frames out of the bullpen in Sunday's finale against the Catamounts.
 
However, both the 49ers (8-4) and Catamounts (3-9) got strong pitching performances from their own starters to sink the Lancers on the final day of Charlotte's First Pitch Classic.
 
The doubleheader caps what to this point in the season has been a grueling start to 2021 for five-time Big South champion Longwood, which has faced three top-25 teams as part of a non-conference contingent that boasts a combined 42-25 record through Sunday. Among those foes has been No. 16 Duke, No. 16 Georgia and No. 18 South Carolina, all of whom remain in the USA Today/NFCA Coaches Poll Top 25 and one of which – No. 16 Georgia – Longwood upset on opening weekend.
 
Even as the Lancers left the Gamecock Invitational where Friday and Saturday they faced both Duke and South Carolina, Sunday's trip to the First Pitch Classic still pitted them against a Charlotte team that is off to an 8-4 start and a Western Carolina squad that ranks second in the Southern Conference in ERA.
 
"Iron sharpens iron, and our goal as a program is to be razor-ready for conference play," said Longwood's first-year head coach, Dr. Megan Brown. "This weekend was hard in many ways. We have work to do and will be about our work this week."
 
The Lancers will use the upcoming week to prepare for another non-conference gauntlet at the Liberty Softball Classic where they will face East Carolina, James Madison and Liberty over five games Friday through Sunday, March 5-7. Both James Madison and Liberty are receiving votes in the USA Today/NFCA Coaches Poll.
 
Game One: Charlotte Wins Pitcher's Duel 4-1 in Game One at First Pitch Classic
 
Charlotte right-hander Lindsey Walljasper fired a complete-game one-hitter and leveraged a pair of two-run homers from her offense to send the host 49ers to a 4-1 win over Longwood in game one Sunday afternoon at the Phillips Complex.
 
Walljasper, a junior transfer from the University of Nebraska, allowed just one Lancer to reach base safely while striking out five to outduel Longwood senior Sydney Backstrom as the two aces went toe-to-toe in parallel complete-game performances.
 
However, Walljasper (5-1) gained the upper hand when her offense delivered a pair of two-run homers in the third and fourth, providing her enough run support to overcome Longwood's lone run in the top of the fifth. Those homers came off the bats of two-hitter Bailey Vannoy and seven-hitter Nicole Bowman and staked Walljasper and the 49ers a 4-0 lead.
 
The two-run blasts were the lone blemishes on the day for Backstrom (1-3), whose 31st career complete game saw her scatter seven hits and pile up five strikeouts to just one walk. She retired nine of the final 10 batters she faced, but Walljasper matched that by retiring the side in order in the sixth and seventh to preserve the win.
 
Longwood's lone run came from freshman Lauren Fox, who stepped in as a pinch runner for Madison Blair after Blair led off the top of the fifth with a single. Fox then stole second for her first career steal, moved to third on a groundout by Leah Powell and scored on a wild pitch by Walljasper.
 
The loss to Charlotte opened the third of three consecutive doubleheaders for the Lancers this weekend. They will conclude their six-game gauntlet this afternoon with a 4 p.m. matchup against Western Carolina.
 
Game Two: Western Carolina Rides 5-Run Third Inning to Outlast Longwood 6-4
 
A pair of two-RBI days from Myra Twitty and Kailey McNail and a five-run inning were enough to overcome a strong start from Longwood senior Arleigh Wood and lift Western Carolina to a 6-4 win over Longwood in the Lancers' second game of the day Sunday afternoon at the First Pitch Classic.
 
McNeil and Twitty both tagged multiple hits on the day, including Twitty whose two-run double highlighted a big third inning that put Western Carolina on top for good. The Catamounts tagged eight hits against a Longwood pitching staff who used its ace Sydney Backstrom earlier in the day against Charlotte but called her back in to record the final six outs, which she did without giving up a hit.
 
Longwood responded to Backstrom's entry by plating three runs in the top of the sixth to cut Western Carolina's lead to 6-4 and snap a three-inning scoreless streak from Catamount starter Jayme Eilers. However, Eilers (2-5) bounced back to retire the side in order in the top of the seventh and put a stop to a Longwood rally that featured three hits, including a pair of extra-base knocks, in the sixth.
 
That late Lancer rally culminated with junior slugger Sydney Jacobsen's two-run, two-out homer, which was her first bomb of the year and fifth of her career. Leadoff batter Mason Basdikis also doubled during the rally, which began with a leadoff single from Leigha Hill.
 
However, the 6-4 deficit would be as close as Longwood would get to closing the gap created by Western Carolina's five-run third.
 
Wood, who started the game and tossed back-to-back scoreless frames before yielding to fellow right-hander Leigha Hill in the top of the sixth, totaled 3.1 innings of one-run ball after her reentry late in the third. In her longest outing of the season, she worked around five hits, did not issue a single walk and struck out one.
 
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