Longwood University Athletics

Games 45-47: Longwood (21-23, 10-5 Big South) vs. Charleston Southern (10-22, 5-13 Big South)
Dates & Times	Game 1 vs. Charleston Southern: April 24 • 12 p.m. Game 2 vs. Charleston Southern: April 25 • 10 a.m. Game 3 vs. Charleston Southern: April 25 • 12 p.m.
Location	Farmville, Va. • Lancer Field
Game Notes	Longwood | Charleston Southern | Big South
Statistics	Longwood | Charleston Southern | Big South
Video / Live Stats	Game 1 vs. Charleston Southern: ESPN+ | Live Stats Game 2 vs. Charleston Southern: ESPN+ | Live Stats Game 3 vs. Charleston Southern: ESPN+ | Live Stats

The First Pitch
•    Currently in third place in the Big South with a 10-5 record, Longwood hosts conference rival Charleston Southern Saturday and Sunday at Lancer Field.
•    Due to expected inclement weather, the series schedule has shifted to a single game Saturday at noon and a doubleheader Sunday at 10 a.m.
•    Longwood has won 21 of its past 22 Big South series, including five of six this season. Longwood defeated both Radford and Presbyterian two games to one over the past two weekends and suffered their only series loss at the hands of current Big South frontrunner Campbell.
•    With two Big South series remaining in the regular season, both at home against Charleston Southern this weekend and second-place USC Upstate on May 8-9, the Lancers are seeking their eighth consecutive top-three Big South finish. That streak encompasses every year the Lancers have been a member of the Big South, including Big South regular-season titles in 2015, 2016 and 2019.
•    Longwood senior Sydney Backstrom was named Big South Pitcher of the Week Monday for the fourth time after going 4-0 with a 1.25 ERA and a perfect game. Her four Big South awards are the most by a Lancer in a single season.
•    The Lancers are 16-4 against the Buccaneers in the Big South regular season and have won five of the past series since their inaugural season in the Big South in 2013.
•    Longwood is 17-10 since March 10. That stretch includes an 11-game winning streak from March 10-28. 

Last Time Out
•    No. 24 James Madison showcased its top-25 prowess and took both games of a midweek doubleheader 1-0 and 6-0. The Dukes got back-to-back shutouts from the ace duo of Alissa Humphrey and Odicci Alexander, who entered the game ranked No. 1 and 2 in the CAA in ERA and opponent batting average.
•    In game one, Longwood ace Sydney Backstrom went toe-to-toe with Humphrey in a pitcher's duel that featured just six hits and 24 strikeouts. Backstrom held JMU to just four hits with nine Ks.
•    The games were Longwood's sixth and seventh against a top-25 team this season. 

By The Numbers
•    Longwood is averaging 4.6 runs per game and hitting .285 in Big South play, compared to 3.3 runs per game and a .205 batting average in non-conference games. The Lancers have also hit 13 home runs in 15 Big South games, compared to 11 homers in 29 non-conference games.
•    Designated player Madison Blair has enjoyed the team's biggest statistical jump from non-conference to conference play, hitting a team-high .364 (16-for-44) in Big South games, compared to .133 (6-for-45) in non-conference games.
•    Of Longwood's 29 non-conference games, 11 are against teams either ranked or receiving votes in the USA Today/NFCA Coaches Poll. 
•    Longwood has stolen 100 bases this season, only the second time in program history a Lancer team has hit the century mark in that cateogry. The last team to do it, and the program's single-season record-holder was the 1999 Lancer squad that amassed 136 steals in 53 games.
•    Four Lancers have amassed double-digit steals this season, including junior Mason Basdikis, who is 26-for-26. Basdikis has stolen 34 consecutive bases without being caught and ranks No. 1 in the nation in steals by a player who has yet to be caught stealing this season.
•    Longwood ace Sydney Backstrom has allowed just five hits and one earned run over her past 21.0 innings, including a perfect game against Presbyterian on April 17 and a one-hitter against the Blue Hose in a series-clinching follow-up on April 18. She also held No. 24 James Madison — the No. 3 scoring team in the nation — to one run on four hits in a seven-inning complete game this past Wednesday. 
•    Backstrom recently snapped a streak of 32 consecutive innings without issuing a walk. That streak spanned five consecutive starts and saw her rack up 35 strikeouts.
•    Backstrom has thrown complete games in 10 consecutive starts, going 6-4 with a 1.93 ERA, two shutouts and a perfect game in that span.
•    Longwood is 6-2 in one-run games and has yet to lose when leading after the sixth inning. 
•    Sydney Jacobsen ranks second in the Big South lead with 19 extra-base hits, trailing only league RBI leader Ansley Gilreath of Winthrop. Jacobsen leads the Big South with 11 doubles and also has three triples and five homers. 

Quotable
"In the fall, we talk about putting hay in the barn that you're going to need for spring. A lot of times pitchers throw their bullpen before practice and then they shag batting practice for two hours. Our pitchers come to practice and pitch for almost three hours. They do different drills, they condition, they do core exercises. We train them in such a way that we build endurance. If you don't train that way, you can't do it."
 — Longwood head coach Dr. Megan Brown on her training philosophy for the Lancer pitching staff

Series History
•    Longwood and Charleston Southern meet for the 29th, 30th and 31st times in series history this weekend in Farmville. 
•    Longwood has won seven of the past nine games in the series dating back to the 2017 season. 
•    The Lancers have won five of the six Big South series between the teams, with Charleston Southern's lone series win coming two games to one in the 2016 matchup.
•    Nine of the past 13 games in the series have been decided by two runs or fewer, including five one-run games. 
•    Alexis Wayland has homered in back-to-back games against Charleston Southern, while one of Destiny Martinez's two career homers also came in the series against the Bucs.

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