FARMVILLE, Va. – Longwood is coming off another Big South series win over Presbyterian as the team readies for a midweek doubleheader against George Mason.
The Patriots (17-19) most recently split an A10 doubleheader with George Washington the day before Easter. Game three is set for Tuesday, April 19 at 3 p.m.
Longwood (21-20) had two players earn conference honors last week. None other than reigning Big South Pitcher of the Year,
Sydney Backstrom (2022, 4X) and standout freshman
Jaden Pone (2022, 2X).
The doubleheader in Fairfax is set to begin at 2 p.m. Wednesday, with game two set tentatively for 4:30 p.m.
LONGWOOD GAME NOTES
GEORGE MASON LIVE STATS
LIVE STREAM
The First Pitch:
- The Lancers (21-20) were served its first conference loss in 12 games on Friday against Presbyterian. Longwood did clinch the series with a 12-1 win on Saturday, where the team put up eight runs, on a one out rally in the home side of the fourth to take the game early.
- For the second time this season, Sydney Backstrom and Jaden Pone won Big South weekly awards together. Backstrom earned her fourth Pitcher of the Week award of the season, while Pone grabbed her second Freshman of the Week award.
- Backstrom wrote her name at the top of the Longwood record books, taking the career strikeout record away from Elizabeth McCarthy - legendary Lancer pitcher. Backstrom has a new single-season best of 190 K's on the year, 661 career K's, and a personal best .163 b/avg against her.
- Longwood linked three back-to-back Big South sweeps over North Carolina A&T, Hampton, and Radford. Longwood's difficulty of schedule remains in the country's top 60, ranking first in the Big South, 58th overall.
- Pone's weekend was just one hit away from being perfect. The freshman was 7-8 (.875 b/avg), 5-5 in stolen bases, with three runs coming in the Saturday win. Pone was 3-3 in both wins for Longwood on the weekend, and put together the team's best slg% at .875.
- 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:
- Ace for Longwood, Sydney Backstrom (15-9), was picked as the Preseason Pitcher of the Year in the conference. Backstrom has backed up title earning her fourth Big South Pitcher of the Week honors in the 2022 season. Backstrom has a new single-season best of 190 strikeouts, a 1.95 ERA on 150 IP, and has a personal season best .168 b/avg against her.
- Reagan Kanagawa also stepped up in the conference sweep over Hampton two weeks ago, grabbing her first ever collegiate no hitter. Kanagawa pitched in the game two 12-1 win in the series over the Pirates.
- Alexis Wayland has had a stellar start to her senior year. She leads the team with 28 RBI's, six home runs, and eight doubles. Wayland has started behind the plate in every game this season with 287 PO. Wayland has a .317 b/avg on the season and continues to lead Longwood with a .561 slg%. Wayland hit her first multi-home run game against NC A&T where the senior knocked back-to-back home runs in game one out of Lancer Field.
- Standout freshman Jaden Pone, continues to be one of the most reliant, and efficient players at the plate for Longwood. The freshman earned her second Big South weekly honor after going 7-8 from the plate last week, with a slg% .875. Pone is 18-25 (sb-sa), and also leads in runs, 27 total, and b/avg for the Lancers with an overall .384avg.
- Wayland leads the team in RBI's and home runs, with Lauren Taylor, Korynna Anderson, Sydney Jacobsen, and Kayley Devivi following close behind. Anderson now has 18 RBI on the year with a team second best .511 slg%. Anderson has five home runs on the year.
- 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. On the year, Longwood has collected 66 steals on 85 attempts, over 41 games.
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