FARMVILLE, Va. – Longwood sophomore Nia Green has done many things in her softball career, but until Saturday night a walk-off hit was not among them.
 
Now she's done it twice.
 
Green delivered walk-offs in both games of a doubleheader sweep over Bucknell, first driving in the game-winning run with a walk-off single in the bottom of the seventh in a 4-3 win in game one, and following with a walk-off two-run homer in the bottom of the seventh in a 9-7 win in game two Saturday night at Lancer Field.
 
"Never in my 12 years of softball," said Green. "It felt good."
 
Those game-winning knocks were part of a six-RBI day for the sophomore slugger, who went 4-for-8 with two home runs and a double to help lift the Lancers (8-13) to their fourth straight win and remain a perfect 4-0 at home this season. Both of her walk-offs followed rally-starting hits by junior catcher Alexis Wayland, who sparked the game-one scoring sequence with a two-out double and did so again in game two by legging out an infield single.
 
In overcoming Bucknell (2-2) twice Saturday, the Lancers have already secured their third series win in the past four outings, beating East Carolina 2-out-of-3 at the Liberty Softball Classic and sweeping back-to-back home doubleheaders against Marshall Wednesday and the Bison Saturday. The Lancers have now won six of their past 10 games under first-year head coach Dr. Megan Brown after opening the season with a grueling non-conference slate that featured five games against top-25 teams and four others against teams receiving votes in the USA Today/NFCA Coaches Top 25 Poll.
 
"It's a testament to the young ladies we have on our team. They're tremendous young women who are just strong as people, so that's one thing," Brown said.
 
"The second is this is the reason we've played a tough schedule. We've played tough teams, we've had to stay in games, there was no pitch-off in the first 20 games we've played. We knew that would be something we'd need to have this season to do the things the program wants to do. It's nice to see it start to stick and for us to start to grow."
 
The green-light Lancers also continued their aggressiveness on the base paths, stealing 13 bases on the day without getting caught. Leadoff batter Mason Basdikis had four of those, including three in game one, while Leah Powell and Destiny Martinez had two, and five other Lancers had one apiece.
 
That multi-faceted offense, which also included the first career homer from sophomore center fielder Lauren Taylor, backed another strong start from All-Big South first-teamer Sydney Backstrom (6-6), who went 2-0 on the day. Backstrom started the opener and went the distance, striking out a season-high nine batters, and followed by coming out of the bullpen in game two to record the final five outs and set the stage for Green's second walk-off.
 
Now with a shot at their first three-game sweep of the season, the Lancers will face Bucknell Sunday at noon in their final non-conference tune-up before the start of Big South play next weekend at Gardner-Webb.
 
Game One: Green Delivers Walk-Off Single to Back Backstrom's Complete Game in 4-3 Win
 
Longwood's All-Big South ace Sydney Backstrom shook off a first-inning home run and shut down Bucknell the rest of the way, and sophomore outfielder Nia Green delivered a walk-off single in the bottom of the seventh to send the Lancers to a 4-3 win over the Bison in game one of a Saturday doubleheader at Lancer Field.
 
Backstrom was nearly untouchable in her seventh complete game of the season, shutting out Bucknell over the final five innings to send the Lancers (7-13) to their third straight win and fifth in the past nine games. The 6-1 right-hander struck out nine, walked one and scattered four hits – only two of which came after the second inning, and only one of which left the infield.
 
Backstrom retired the final 12 batters she faced, striking out seven of those including the side in the top of the seventh. With the senior workhose dialed in, the Lancers chipped away at Bucknell's 3-0 lead, tied the game on Leah Powell's two-out, infield single in the bottom of the third, and then won it on Green's go-ahead RBI single to left-center that drove home Alexis Wayland all the way from second base.
 
The victory was Longwood's third straight coming back from an early deficit after climbing out of early 1-0 and 3-0 holes in this past Wednesday's doubleheader sweep over Marshall.
 
Green's hit was one of two on the day for the newly minted cleanup hitter, who hit in that spot for the third straight game. She also doubled during a two-run third, moving Wyland to third base where she scored one at bat later on Powell's game-tying single that Bucknell shortstop Noelle Garden kept in the infield with a diving stop in the hole.
 
Wayland also logged a pair of hits and scored twice, continuing a hot streak that has seen her bat .461 (6-of-13) with six RBI and four runs during a four-game hitting streak.
 
Longwood's late rally handed Bucknell starter Kaiya Burton (1-1) a hard-luck loss, as the sophomore right-hander allowed four runs on six hits over her 6.2 innings.
 
Game Two: Green Delivers Again, Mashing Walk-Off Two-Run Homer to Clinch 9-7 Win
 
Four at bats after she delivered a walk-off hit in Longwood's 4-3 win over Bucknell in game one, Nia Green delivered again with a walk-off two-run homer in the bottom of the seventh to send the Lancers to a 9-7 win and a doubleheader sweep over the Bison.
 
Green stepped to the plate with the score tied at 7-7 and junior Alexis Wayland on first base, and capped an eight-pitch at bat with a towering, opposite-field blast to the right field gap. The homer was the second of the game for Green, who opened the contest with a three-run homer in the first inning and finished with a career-high five RBI.
 
Green's walk-off ended a back-and-forth slugfest between the Lancers and Bison, who combined for four home runs, including a third-inning grand slam by Bucknell center fielder Chase Knapp. That four-run bomb erased an early surge from the Lancers – which included Green's first homer – and tied the game at 6-6. It also ended the day for Lancer Leigha Hill, who prior to Bucknell's five-run fifth had limited the Bison to just two hits and had retired the side in order in the second.
 
Relieving Hill in the circle for Longwood was Sherba, who stepped in after Knapp's grand slam and righted the ship by inducing two groundouts to kill Bucknell's momentum and keep the game tied at 6-6.
 
Longwood sophomore Lauren Taylor made sure that deadlock was short-lived in the Lancers' next turn at the plate, putting them back on top with a two-out solo shot that cleared the left field wall for her first career home run.
 
Sherba took that momentum back into the circle in the next half inning, firing the first of two scoreless frames take the Lancers' 7-6 lead into the sixth. However, Bucknell's aggressiveness on the basepaths eventually pushed the tying run across the plate. That pressure coaxed the normally sure-handed Lancers into making two errors in the inning – more than they had made in their four prior games combined. The first of those was the most costly, as Wayland misfired on an attempted pickoff at second base, short-hopping the ball in front of the base and sending it into center field.
 
The errant throw allowed Jess Hom to score all the way from second base and tie the game once again, erasing Sherba's shot at the win shortly after she handed the ball over to ace and game-one winner Sydney Backstrom. But Backstrom ended the threat there, inducing a flyout and working around another Lancer fielding error to strike out the .500-hitter Sarah Baluch and end the threat.
 
After a scoreless sixth in which Bucknell reliever Olivia Marinelli stranded Longwood senior Destiny Martinez on third base, Longwood's defense returned to form in the seventh by turning a 5-4-3 double play to cut short another potential Bison rally. Backstrom then got pinch hitter Hunter Vestal to fly out to center field, setting the stage for Longwood's seventh-inning dramatics and Green's walk-off winner.
 
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