The First Pitch
•   In their final non-conference series of the regular season, Longwood faces future Big South member North Carolina A&T in a road doubleheader this Sunday in Greensboro, N.C.
•   A member of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, North Carolina A&T will join the Big South beginning in the 2021-22 academic year.
•   Sunday's twinbill will be two of Longwood's final five remaining games in the regular season and the team's final non-conference tune-up before a crucial Big South series against fellow conference frontrunner USC Upstate, which currently sits in second place in the conference.
•   The Lancers, at 12-6 in the Big South, have already secured a spot in the four-team Big South Softball Championship. Longwood currently sits in third place, trailing USC Upstate (12-3) by three games.
•   Longwood is 18-16 in doubleheader games this season and 12-6 in the first game of those twinbills.
•   Longwood is 19-11 since March 10. That stretch includes an 11-game winning streak from March 10-28, five Big South series wins and eight wins in 11 series overall.
•   Longwood is 7-1 against unranked non-conference teams since March 10. The lone loss was a 10-3 defeat in the final game of a three-game series win over UNCG on April 10.
•   Longwood senior
Sydney Backstrom has been named Big South Pitcher of the Week a program-record four times this season, the most in a single season by any Lancer.Â
Last Time Out
•   Longwood rallied to win a pair of tight games, 2-0 and 3-2, and clinch a three-game Big South series against Charleston Southern.Â
•   The Buccaneers won the opener 4-1, topping Big South Pitcher of the Year frontrunner
Sydney Backstrom Saturday, but the Lancers fought back to win both games of a doubleheader Sunday behind Backstrom's arm and timely hitting.Â
•   Backstrom won both games Sunday, including her Big South-leading fifth shutout in the opener.
•   Graduate students
Kasey Carr and
Destiny Martinez both drove in game-winning RBI in the Sunday doubleheader sweep.
By The Numbers
•   Longwood has won seven of its past eight games against unranked non-conference opponents. That includes three consecutive series wins, with a three-game sweep over Bucknell, a two-to-one series win over UNCG and a doubleheader sweep over Marshall.
•   Of Longwood's 29 non-conference games, 11 have been against teams either ranked or receiving votes in the USA Today/NFCA Coaches Poll.Â
•   Longwood has stolen 106 bases this season, marking only the second time in program history the Lancers have surpassed the century mark in steals. The only other team to hit that mark 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. 2 in the nation in steals by a player who has yet to be caught stealing this season.
•   Longwood is 7-2 in one-run games and has yet to lose when leading after the sixth inning.Â
•  Â
Sydney Jacobsen leads the Big South with 21 extra-base hits. A league-high 12 of those have been doubles, while four have gone for triples and five for home runs. Her 75 total bases also rank second in the conference behind only league RBI leader Ansley Gilreath of Winthrop, who has 93.
•   Junior
Madison Blair has been Longwood's hottest hitter over the past 10 games, batting a team-best .318 (7-of-22) during that stretch while logging a team-high .423 on base percentage.Â
•   Longwood ace
Sydney Backstrom has a 1.06 ERA and a 7-2 record over her past nine starts. She has held opponents to a .138 batting average during that span, allowing only 29 hits and two home runs.Â
•   Backstrom's past nine starts include a perfect game and two three-hit shutouts. She has thrown complete games in eight of those nine starts and has held all nine opponents to three or fewer earned runs.Â
Quotable
"They came out with a great mentality this morning, they made good adjustments in pregame and came out ready to go. We had a couple miscues throughout the day but I was really proud of our recovery and our ability to reset, which is such a vital tool as we get deeper into the season. We fought throughout, had good at bats and worked together as an offense, which is our strength. I'm pleased with their response."
 — Longwood head coach
Dr. Megan Brown following Sunday's series-clinching doubleheader sweep over Charleston Southern
Series History
•   Longwood and North Carolina A&T meet for only the second and third time in series history and the first time since the inaugural meeting between the teams on March 4, 2005.
•   The only game between the teams took place in Charleston, S.C., at the Charleston Southern Tournament, which Longwood won 4-1.
•   North Carolina A&T head coach Patti Raduenz faced Longwood five times during the latter portion of her 11-year tenure as head coach at Elon from 2001-11. Longwood went 4-1 in those games, including a three-game series in 2009 and a doubleheader sweep in 2010.
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