FARMVILLE, Va. – With the series against East Carolina on the line, Longwood's veterans came through once again.
 
Behind a second straight complete game from senior ace Sydney Backstrom and a four-RBI outburst from junior Sydney Jacobsen, Longwood (4-11) took down East Carolina 4-1 to win a second straight game against the Pirates and claim the three-game series Sunday on the final day of the Liberty Softball Classic at Kamphuis Field.
 
The win was the second in as many days for the Lancers, who concluded their three-day gauntlet at Liberty's home tournament by falling 10-0 to the host Flames (12-5) in Sunday's doubleheader finale. Backstrom also started that game but was limited to just 2.0 innings after her 7.0 complete game in Sunday's opener, opening the door for Liberty's high-powered offense to finish an undefeated run at the tournament.
 
For the weekend, the All-Big South workhorse Backstrom shouldered the load in the circle once again, throwing 17.0 innings while allowing just three earned runs and eight hits. She struck out 19 and walked only seven, picking up wins in both of her complete-game performances against East Carolina (9-6).
 
Meanwhile, Jacobsen paced Longwood's offense throughout the tournament, going 5-for-17 with six RBI in her five games. She had a hit in four of those five games, including both outings Sunday, while fellow junior Mason Basdikis also picked up six hits and a pair of stolen bases out of the leadoff spot.
 
"East Carolina was another great team win," said Longwood's first-year head coach Dr. Megan Brown, who picked up the third and fourth wins of her inaugural season as a head coach this weekend. "I love it when a team comes together and works hard for each other. We saw that today and got a well-earned win to show for it."
 
After the five-game weekend, Longwood will get just one day off to prepare for two more matchups against Liberty, which will come in a Tuesday doubleheader at Kamphuis Field.
 
Game One: Jacobsen's 4 RBI, Backstrom's Complete Game Send Longwood Past ECU 4-1
 
After throwing 8.0 innings of one-run ball in a 2-1 extra-inning win over East Carolina Saturday, senior ace Sydney Backstrom once again went the distance and fired 7.0 frames of one-run ball that led Longwood to a 4-1 win over the Pirates
 
The 6-1 All-Big South right-hander allowed just three hits and a run while striking out eight and retiring six of the final nine batters she faced. Meanwhile, junior first baseman Sydney Jacobsen shouldered the load at the plate, breaking the game open with a go-ahead bases-loaded triple in the top of the fifth and a follow-up RBI double in the top of the seventh that pushed the lead to three runs.
 
Jacobsen's four RBI were a career high and pushed her team RBI lead to 11 on the year. Her bases-clearing triple took advantage of fifth inning belabored by East Carolina miscues, with Pirates ace Kama Woodall hitting Leah Powell and walking Lauren Taylor and the East Carolina defense gifting Lauren Fox a free base with a fielding error. Jacobsen then came to the plate with two outs and delivered her second triple of the season, sending this one down the right field line to send in all three runners.
 
Backstrom took the lead and ran with it, allowing just three base runners over her final three frames while striking out four of the last eight batters she faced.
 
The win made Longwood the first team to win a series against East Carolina this season and dealt the Pirates their first back-to-back losses of the season. For the three-game series, Backstrom allowed just two runs and eight hits in 15.0 innings while striking out 16.
 
Game Two: Liberty Continues Hot Streak, Downs Longwood 10-0
 
Continuing its strong start to the 2021 season, Liberty extended its winning streak to five straight and won for the eighth time in the past nine games with a 10-0 takedown of Longwood in the Lancers' second game of the day Sunday at the Liberty Softball Classic.
 
The top of Liberty's lineup carried the day, combining for six of the team's eight hits and five RBI, including a 2-for-3, three-RBI outing from two-hitter Amber Bishop-Riley. Liberty's all-region second baseman capped her day with a walk-off three-run homer in the bottom of the sixth that pushed the Flames' lead to double digits and ended the game.
 
Bishop's homer was one of two on the day for Liberty, with the other coming from her sister Autumn Bishop, and put to rest a late-game rally that saw the Flames score seven of their runs in the final three innings. Back-to-back three-run outbursts in the fifth and sixth ended the game as Liberty took advantage of a Longwood pitching staff whose ace, Sydney Backstrom, fired a complete game in the morning's win over East Carolina and was able to throw just the first 2.0 innings in Sunday's finale.
 
Both Bishops tagged multiple hits, combining to go 2-for-6 with four RBI and five runs hitting in the top two spots in the Liberty batting order.
 
The Lancers got their three hits from Sydney Jacobsen, Destiny Martinez and Lauren Taylor, with bot Jacobsen and Martinez doubling. However, Jacobsen was the only Lancer that Flames starter Emily Kirby allowed to move past third base during her three-hit complete-game shutout.
 
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