STARKVILLE, Miss. – Longwood finished another weekend of tough competition going 1-3 after falling to Belmont in its final game of The Snowman on Saturday.
 
Belmont (4-4, 0-0 SoCon) topped Longwood in the final game for the Virginia team 4-2, with a fourth inning single up the middle giving Cheyenna Cavanaugh a chance to circle the bases. The game saw 10 straight outs after that hit, ending the game after six and a half.
 
On the day, Longwood (5-9, 0-0 Big South) had three of their pitchers see the circle in the final day of the tournament. Sydney Backstrom pitched eight innings, including one complete game in the South Alabama win.
 
"Good team win in game one, good lessons learned in game two," said Head Coach Megan Brown. "We have a lot of adjustments to make this week, but we look forward to the good work ahead of us."
 
Low scoring games mixed with a high intensity on defense gave Longwood the 1-1 record Saturday. Next weekend, the team heads to Birmingham, Alabama for the Green and Gold Classic for five games against UAB and Harvard from Friday, March 4 to Sunday, March 6.
 
Game 1: Taylor's Walkoff Squeezes Longwood Past South Alabama 3-2
 
For a second straight day, Longwood and South Alabama were locked in a tight, tense pitcher's duel. This time, the Lancers earned the walk-off win, 3-2 with a seventh inning squeeze.
 
With the score tied at two all, Kayley DeVivi led off the bottom of the seventh for the Lancers (5-8) with a single to third. An error sent her to second on the play, and Lauren Fox came on to pinch run and go to third on a sacrifice bunt by Jaden Pone. Lauren Taylor laid a bunt down to third, and Fox raced home for the win.
 
That late effort paid off another strong effort in the circle from Backstrom (4-4). The grad student once again went the distance. She surrendered two runs, one earned, on four hits and a pair of walks while striking out five in the complete-game win.
 
Backstrom's work was enough to outduel South Alabama's trio of Allie Hughen, Jenna Hardy and Olivia Lackie. Hughen received a no decision after giving up two runs, one earned, on four hits in four innings. Hardy (1-5) took the loss after going 2.1 innings while giving up an unearned run. Lackie came on to face Taylor on the final at bat of the game.
 
Longwood struck first in the fourth inning. Jacobsen led off with a solo home run, her first of the season. After Lauren Taylor worked a walk, Alexis Wayland poked a single up the middle to send her home for a 2-0 lead.
 
South Alabama (3-9) battled back with a run in each of the fifth and sixth innings. The Jaguars taking advantage of a Lancer error in the fifth to cut the lead to 2-1 when Belle Wolfenden came home.
 
Kamdyn Kvistad evened the score for South Alabama in the sixth inning with an RBI groundout.
 
Backstrom stiffened back up in the seventh for the Lancers, working around a one-out double to keep the score locked at two.
 
Game 2: Belmont Tops Longwood In Defensive Battle In The Diamond
 
Belmont had the upper hand over Longwood 4-2 in the tough fought battle brought by both teams.
 
A defensive battle in the circle began with a scoreless first inning for both teams. Sydney Jacobsen with a hot bat started off the top of the second with a line drive down the third baseline. It was Leigha Hill who smashed a single to left field allowing Jacobsen to get the Lancers (5-9, 0-0 Big South) on the board first.
 
Followed by a scoreless home side of the second, Belmont (4-4, 0-0 SoCon) responded in the following inning that started with the second of only two walks off the hand of Regan Kanagawa. A single to shortstop off the bat of Cheyenne Cavanaugh allowed Kaley Varner to cross home plate safe, giving Cavanaugh her sole RBI on the day.
 
Even at 1-1, Varner smacked a two-run RBI to center field putting the Bruins 3-1 in the bottom of the fourth.
 
Kanagawa started in the circle for Longwood, only allowing three hits in her time centering the diamond. Kanagawa, Angelina Sherba, and Sydney Backstrom all appeared in at least two innings in game two of the tournament. The three pitchers combines for six strikeouts, and only six hits and four runs.
 
Kayley Devivi hit a dinger in the top of the fifth to close the lead. Answering in the bottom of the fifth it was Kristen Greens RBI single hit over second base that allowed Cavanaugh to score regaining the two-run lead.
 
Nine straight outs later, the game was complete in the middle of the seventh sealing the victory for Belmont. Longwood's next set of games takes the team to Birmingham, Alabama for the Green and Gold Classic at UAB.
 
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