FARMVILLE, Va. – A Big South dynasty of the past was no match for the Big South dynasty of the present.
 
In a showdown between two teams that have combined for nine Big South titles, reigning league champion Longwood (17-18, 6-3 Big South) rode a two-hit shutout from Sydney Backstrom to a 2-0 win in the opener and erupted for a 9-6 win in game two to sweep a non-conference doubleheader against UNCG Friday afternoon at UNCG Softball Stadium.
 
Taking on the No. 1 team in the SoCon coaches poll, and winner of four consecutive Big South championships from 1994-97, the Big South powerhouse Lancers got yet another dominant performance from their ace in game one and saw their offense reawaken for a runaway win in game two.  
 
In total, Backstrom (12-9) and her fellow pitchers Angelina Sherba (2-2), Arleigh Wood and Leigha Hill held UNCG (17-12, 3-3 SoCon) to just two earned runs and did so against a Spartan squad that entered the game as the SoCon leader in batting average, slugging percentage, on base percentage, runs scored, doubles and home runs.
 
Backstrom's game-one shutout was her Big South-leading third of the season and added to a 2021 resume that already includes a one-hit shutout, a two-hit shutout and a Big South-leading 12 wins on the year. Her fellow upperclassman, graduate student Destiny Martinez, rewarded her latest effort with a game-winning RBI double in the top of the seventh, which came as part of Longwood's seventh game-winning rally in the final two innings this season.
 
Martinez's go-ahead double opened the floodgates for Longwood's offense in game two, as the Lancers – who managed just five hits and two runs in the opener – erupted for 11 more knocks in the nightcap. Among those was a two-run homer from sophomore Lauren Taylor, whose team-leading sixth blast of the season came as part of a three-RBI game out of the leadoff spot.
 
The Lancer bats backed seven more strong innings from the trio of starter Sherba and relievers Wood and Hill, who held the Spartans to just five hits. Four of UNCG's runs were uneearned UNCG scored were all unearned and came on one swing of the bat when Samantha Lagrama belted a two-out grand slam in the bottom of the third.

"That was great teamwork today," said first-year Longwood head coach Dr. Megan Brown. "We emptied the bench, and every single person contributed. I was pleased with the adjustments we made throughout the games and the fight we showed."
 
With the three-game series already locked up, Longwood will have a shot at its fourth sweep in the past six series in Saturday's season finale at noon.
 
Game One: Veterans Come Through in Crunch Time to Fuel 2-0 Season-Opening Win
 
In need of clutch performances in crunch time, Longwood softball's veterans delivered.
 
In a series-opening showdown against Southern Conference preseason favorite UNCG, Sydney Backstrom fired a three-hit shutout, and graduate student second baseman Destiny Martinez drove in the game-winning run with a seventh-inning double to power the Lancers to a 2-0 win in game one of Friday afternoon's doubleheader at UNCG Softball Stadium.
 
Martinez stepped to the plate in the seventh with one out and the score deadlocked at 0-0 and laced a hard groundball down the third base line to score senior Leah Powell from second base. Freshman Kayley DeVivi also scored on a throwing error on the play, capping a seventh-inning rally that Powell started after being hit by a pitch in a seven-pitch leadoff at bat.
 
Martinez's RBI double provided a belated but welcome reward for Backstrom, who struck out nine in her Big South-leading 15th complete game and third shutout of the season. The 6-1 right-hander scattered three hits and allowed just three balls to leave the infield against a UNCG team that entered the series as the Southern Conference leader in batting average, slugging percentage, on base percentage, runs scored, doubles and home runs.
 
The Spartans had no answer Backstrom (12-9), even the 1-2-3 combination of SoCon slugging and on base leaders Maycin Brown and Jasmine Palmer and RBI leader Makenna Matthijs, who combined to go just 2-for-10. Backstrom had a strikeout in six of her seven innings, including three during a tone-setting first inning.
 
UNCG starter Morgan Scott (8-6) was equally as effective through her first six innings, working around five hits to match Backstrom's scoreless start. The Lancers finally broke through against the SoCon's leader in opponent batting average and No. 2 in ERA in their final turn at the plate, however, as the Lancers' turned an errant pitch that hit Powell's elbow into a go-ahead scoring sequence.
 
After Powell reached to open the seventh, Mason Basdikis pushed her over with a sacrifice bunt, and pinch hitter Kelly Park joined her one at bat later after drawing a seven-pitch walk. Martinez then ripped the second pitch she saw just inside the third base bag, easily scoring Powell from second and paving the way for the pinch runner DeVivi to score from second after UNCG failed to corral an errant throw to the plate from the outfield.
 
With her first lead of the game, Backstrom then took over in the bottom of the seventh and struck out Jordan Gontram, induced a groundout from Katie Stettler, and shook off a full-count walk to Kayleigh Willis by getting Palmer to ground out to end the game.
 
Game Two: Taylor's Homer & 3 RBI Spark Runaway 9-6 Win in Game Two
 
Lauren Taylor spearheaded an offensive explosion with three RBI and her team-leading sixth home run, sparking the Lancers to their fourth nine-run game of the season and a 9-6 win over UNCG in game two of Friday's doubleheader.
 
Taylor went 2-for-4, stole a base and scored twice out of the leadoff spot as the Lancers scored in every inning to withstand two UNC Greensboro homers, including a grand slam from Samantha Lagrama. All six of the Spartans' runs came by the long ball but still weren't enough against the Lancer pitching trio of Angelina Sherba, Arleigh Wood and Leigha Hill, who allowed just two earned runs and five hits in their combined 7.0 innings of work.
 
Sherba worked the first 4.0 innings of the win, worked around three and three walks, and bounced back from Lagrama's third-inning homer that followed a costly Lancer error that extended the inning. Wood took over in the fifth and threw the next 2.0 innings, with her lone blemish coming in the form of a two-run homer by Melanie Darges in the sixth.
 
Darges' two-out shot would be the Spartans' final salvo, however, as Hill took the mound in her first appearance since March 20 and threw a hitless seventh to earn her second career save.
 
Those three Lancer arms pitched with a lead the entire game, thanks to Taylor and juniors Alexis Wayland and Mason Basdikis, all of whom drove in multiple runs. Wayland finished 3-for-4 with two RBI, while Basdikis sent in a pair with an RBI single and a run-scoring ground ball.
 
The Lancers continued their aggressiveness on the base paths as well, going a perfect 5-for-5 stealing bases to bring their Big South-leading stolen base total to 80 on the year. Those five swipes came from four different Lancers, with Martinez leading the way with two, the second of which put her in scoring position for Taylor's RBI double in the top of the fifth.
 
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