Longwood University Athletics

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - Longwood is coming off a great weekend of conference play, and quickly turnaround to prepare for a top team in the ACC. 

UVA (21-12) is also coming off a great weekend against ACC opponent Boston College where the central Virginia team swept the team from the northeast. Both teams coming off great weekends, Longwood (12-18) strung together three games where the team scored more than eight runs, with Backstrom leading from the circle throwing 24 strikeouts against North Carolina A&T, with eight hitless innings in her two games. 

Longwood sits with an RPI ranking of 32, with UVA at 94. 


LONGWOOD GAME NOTES
UVA LIVE STATS
WATCH ON ACCN 


The First Pitch:

• The Lancers (12-18), are coming off a Big South series sweep against the North Carolina A&t Aggies.
• Longwood continues its difficult nonconference with UVA Tuesday night, making them the tenth opponent that is either in the NFCA Top 25 or receiving votes and their eighth opponent in the top 50 of the RPI.
• Longwood's RPI ranking right now is 32nd in the country. The sweep last weekend over the Aggies was the first time Longwood has swept a home series since 2019, where they did so over Campbell and USC Upstate.
• Sydney Backstrom earned her second Pitcher of the Week honor in the Big South this week after an astounding performance from the circle in the three games she played. Backstrom threw 28 strikeouts, with 14 hitless innings over the three complete games she threw. Her b/avg against was .156 over last week's games - .185 over the year. She has gathered a total of 126 K's and three shutouts on the year so far.
• Senior Alexis Wayland continues to be a key batter for Longwood's offense. Wayland had her first multi-home run game against North Carolina A&T, hitting them back-to-back in game one. Wayland now has five homeruns, and 19 RBI's on the year with a slg% of .518 - best numbers across the team.
• Longwood has won five of the past eight Big South Championship tournaments since joining the conference in 2013 (2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019).

 
By the Numbers:

• Sydney Backstrom (9-9) is one of several returning arms for the Lancers, and was also picked as the Preseason Pitcher of the Year in the conference. Backstrom has earned two Big South Pitcher of the Week honors in the 2022 season. She grabbed her second conference award after a huge week, topped with a conference sweep on their home turf. 
• Alexis Wayland has had a stellar start to her senior year. She's grabbed 19 RBI's, five home runs, four doubles, and a triple so far from the plate. Wayland has started behind the plate in every game this season earning a .972 fld% with 187 PO. Wayland sits with a .271 b/avg and a .518 slg% - best on the Lancers as right now on the year. Wayland hit back-to-back homeruns in game one against North Carolina A&T - and last week earned a slg% of 1.100.
• Sydney Guess charted a great weekend from DP for the Lancers grabbing five starts in the five most recent outings. Guess has now hit game winning RBI's in back-to-back weekends. First coming in game two against Charleston Southern, and the second being in game three against NCAT which ended the game in the bottom of the fifth (W, 8-0.Guess now has a .311 batting average and .400 slug% on the year.
• Wayland leads the team in RBI's and homeruns, with Lauren Taylor and Korynna Anderson following short behind. Taylor now has 13 RBI's on the year, with Anderson sitting with 12 and three home runs. Anderson hit her first home, homer in Farmville on Saturday Mar. 26.   
• With 130 steals last season, Longwood is only the second team in program history to surpass the century mark in that category. Only the 1999 Lancer squad stole more bases in the program's history, swiping 136 in 53 games. So far on the year, Longwood has collected 48 steals on 62 attempts.

#HorsePower