CLINTON, S.C. – In the follow-up to her perfect game in Longwood's 7-0 win against Presbyterian Saturday, Sydney Backstrom wasn't perfect. But she was plenty dominant anyway.
 
After retiring all 21 batters she faced in Saturday's historic performance against the Blue Hose, Backstrom (16-9) took a no-hitter into the fifth inning of Sunday's encore and finished the day holding Presbyterian (12-14, 4-11 Big South) to just one unearned run on two hits.
 
In a rubber game for the three-game series, the Lancer ace struck out 10, did not issue a single walk and punctuated the performance by striking out four of the final five batters she faced. The lone run she allowed came on a misplayed fly ball by her outfield with two outs in the fifth, which was Longwood's only error of the three-game series.

"I was pleased with the response the team showed today," said Longwood first-year head coach Dr. Megan Brown. "We spoke about our energy and intensity, and they came out ready to go. We played a full game and worked together on both sides of the ball. We had good growth this weekend, and we're excited for the week to come."
 
Backstrom's shutdown performance led the Lancers (21-21, 10-5 Big South) to their fourth series win in five Big South series this season and added yet another dominant performance to a season full of them for the 6-1 right-hander.
 
An All-Big South first-teamer in 2019, the Big South Preseason Pitcher of the Year in 2020, and the nation's leader in innings pitched in 2021, Backstrom's two wins over Presbyterian this weekend give her victories in five consecutive decisions since April 9 and dropped her ERA to 2.74 on the year. The complete games were her 18th and 19th of the season, which ranks among the top three nationally, while her combined 19 strikeouts in the two starts moved her into fourth place on Longwood's all-time strikeouts list with 425.
 
Mixing a hard fastball with her trademark diving changeup Sunday, the lone baserunner Backstrom allowed in her first four innings was a hit batter. Presbyterian five-hitter Rebecca Clark broke up the no-hitter with a leadoff single through the left side in the fifth, and leadoff batter Kaitlyn Tucker followed with another leadoff knock in the top of the fifth. However, Backstrom worked out of both of those jams and put to bed Presbyterian's hopes at a comeback by stranding two in scoring position with back-to-back strikeouts in the bottom of the sixth.
 
With Backstrom dialed in, Longwood built an early 1-0 lead on a sacrifice fly ball from junior Mason Basdikis in the third inning and then finally broke through against Presbyterian ace Haley Haselden for a three-run fifth inning. First baseman Sydney Jacobsen drove in two runs with her team-leading third triple of the season, while her fellow junior Alexis Wayland drove in in on the next at bat with an RBI single.
 
The Lancers totaled eight hits, with two of those coming from Wayland and Longwood's top-of-the-order quartet of Basdikis, Jacobsen, Wayland and Nia Green combining for five hits, four RBI and a pair of triples.
 
Now winners of six of their past nine games, and 17 of 25 since March 10, the surging Lancers sit in third place in the Big South with six league games remaining. Their next three-game set in Big South play comes next weekend, April 24-25, against Charleston Southern, but before that the Lancers will host fellow Commonwealth powerhouse James Madison for a doubleheader this Wednesday in Farmville.
 
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