ROCK HILL, S.C. – Ten games. Ten wins.
 
Longwood softball's win streak reached double digits Saturday as the red-hot Lancers (14-13, 5-0 Big South) swept Winthrop in a series-opening doubleheader 2-1 and 6-4 at Terry Field to remain unbeaten in Big South play and undefeated since March 10 under first-year head coach Dr. Megan Brown.
 
The 10-game tear is Longwood's longest winning streak since Kathy Riley's 2016 squad won 12 straight en route to a 40-win season and a Big South Championship.
 
The most recent wins of that streak came Saturday by the slimmest of margins, as ace Sydney Backstrom (10-6) protected a two-run lead throughout her fifth straight complete game in the opener, and Alexis Wayland and Nia Green cranked back-to-back homers in the top of the fifth to spark a 6-4 comeback win in game two.
 
Backstrom earned the game-one win and a game-two save, throwing all 7.0 innings of game one and then coming out of the bullpen to record the final nine outs of game two. She allowed just one run and four hits in her 10.0 innings of work, striking out nine and holding the Eagles (14-16, 2-5 Big South) to a .118 batting average.
 
Meanwhile, Wayland drove in a team-high four RBI in the two-game set and was one of three Lancers to homer on the day, joining Green and center fielder Lauren Taylor, who also launched a solo shot early in game two.
 
"I'm proud of the fight and grit our team showed today," Brown said. "I am excited for the growth the team is showing and very pleased with the focus and execution we demonstrated. We've been working very hard on our execution, and it's exciting to see the results in the game."
 
Longwood executed in all facets throughout the day, committing just one error in the two-game set while outhitting Winthrop 16-6 and going a perfect 7-of-7 stealing. Every Lancer starter recorded a hit, including Taylor and Sydney Jacobsen who both went 3-for-7, and Mason Basdikis, who was a perfect 4-for-4 on the basepaths.
 
Now with their 20th consecutive Big South series win already secured, the Lancers will have a shot at their 11th straight victory and fourth straight series sweep in Sunday's finale, which has been moved up to 11 a.m.
 
Game One: Backstrom's Gem Sends Longwood to Ninth Straight Win, 2-1 at Winthrop
 
In a showdown between two of the best pitchers in the Big South, Longwood could only muster two runs.
 
With ace Sydney Backstrom on the mound, it was enough.
 
In her seventh consecutive win, Backstrom made the most of Longwood's two-run first inning by holding Winthrop to just one run on three hits over 7.0 complete innings to carry the Lancers to a 2-1 win that was their ninth straight victory and kept them as one of two remaining unbeatens in the Big South.
 
Longwood's All-Big South right-hander struck out seven, walked just one and did not allow a run until her final inning en route to her fifth consecutive complete-game start. She carried a no-hitter into the fourth inning and outdueled Winthrop's two-way ace Madelyn Watson (7-6) in a battle between two of the Big South's top three in wins, strikeouts and innings pitched.
 
The Lancers got to Watson in the first inning, plating two runs on a groundball from Alexis Wayland that followed back-to-back leadoff hits from Lauren Fox and Sydney Jacobsen. Wayland's knock sent in Fox, and a throwing error on the same play allowed Jacobsen to come around and give the Lancers a 2-0 lead.
 
Those runs would be the lone blemishes on the day for Watson, who matched Backstrom in going the distance while scattering six hits and two runs, only the first of which was earned. She struck out five and walked just one while holding Longwood to its lowest run total of its nine-game win streak.
 
However, those two runs proved too much for Winthrop to overcome as the Eagles managed just three baserunners in the game's first six innings against Backstrom. The 6-1 right-hander struck out four batters in a row in the second and third inning – striking out the side in the third – and bounced back to cut short a burgeoning Winthrop rally in the bottom of the seventh.
 
Winthrop threatened to tie the game and undo Backstrom's first six shutout innings in that final inning, following a leadoff walk from Ansley Gilreath with back-to-back singles from Taylor Charlton and Ashley Westbrooks. Westbrooks' knock to center field scored Patel from second base and put Westbrooks on base as the tying run, and a follow-up walk by Kaitlyn Tucker and Westbrook's steal of third moved to within 60 feet of knotting the score. However, Backstrom buckled down and left Westbrooks there by inducing back-to-back groundouts to end the threat.
 
Game Two: Wayland & Green's Back-to-Back Bombs Spark 6-4 Comeback, 10th Straight Win
 
Mother Nature may have slowed down Longwood's comeback, but she couldn't stop it.
 
Separated by a 30-minute lightning delay in the top of the fifth, Lancer sluggers Alexis Wayland and Nia Green teamed up for back-to-back two-out home runs that tied the game and then put Longwood on top for good during a 6-4 comeback win in game two of the doubleheader against Winthrop.
 
With Longwood trailing 4-2, Wayland launched a two-out, two-run bomb that followed a rally-starting single from fellow junior and No. 2 hitter Sydney Jacobsen. A lightning strike within five miles of Terry Field then forced a 30-minute weather delay, but Longwood's bats stayed hot through the delay and resumed the comeback bid when Nia Green blasted a go-ahead solo homer immediately after play resumed.
 
Green's homer put Longwood ahead 5-4 and set the stage for more dominance from game-one winner Sydney Backstrom, who took over for fellow senior Arleigh Wood (1-1) in the bottom of the fifth and recorded the final nine outs of the game.
 
With a 5-4 lead to protect, as well as Wood's first win of the season, Backstrom worked around a walk to throw a scoreless fifth and then worked her way out of a big jam in the sixth. With Longwood's lead stretching to 6-4 after Kasey Carr squeezed in Mason Basdikis with a sacrifice bunt in the top of the sixth, the Eagles launched their final salvo in the bottom half of the inning. After Vianna Rodriguez, Bailey Warren and Ashton Vanhouse all reached safely to load the bases with no outs, Backstrom buckled down and stopped the rally dead by getting leadoff batter Macy McCall to ground into a fielder's choice, No. 2 hitter Lauren King to foul out to first base, and three-hitter Madyson Watson to foul out to left field.
 
 That lockdown performance put the momentum firmly back in Longwood's dugout, as Backstrom retired the side in order in the bottom of the seventh and punctuated her second save of the year by striking out Kaitlyn Tucker to end the game.
 
#GoWood