FAIRFAX, Va. – Longwood's offense ripped off 26 hits to grab back-to-back wins on Wednesday afternoon over A-10 competitor George Mason.
 
Longwood (23-20) opened the day with a huge win over the George Mason Patriots 11-2. Longwood scored seven in the fourth inning to run-rule George Mason in the opener, and everyone had success at the plate.
 
Game two started explosively for the first two innings, but the two sides settled down and turned it into a defensive battle before the Lancers pulled away in the 8-5 win.
 
Sydney Backstrom and Jerzie Nutile both threw well to earn wins, with Nutile earning her first career win in the second game. Alexis Wayland and Sydney Jacobsen added big days at the plate, with Wayland finishing a home run short of the cycle while Jacobsen clobbered two homers on the day.

"Good team wins. Every single player contributed today whether that was offensively or defensively," said head coach Dr. Megan Brown. "It took everybody, and everybody contributed in many different ways."

Longwood will hit the road again for a three game series at Campbell Saturday and Sunday.
 
The upcoming weekend will be a fight between the No. 2 and No. 3 seeds in the Big South.
 
Game One: Longwood Offense Strikes Gold In The Fourth In An 11-2 Win Over Patriots
 
Longwood's offense dominated game one against George Mason, taking the game one win 11-2 and ending it after five innings.
 
The entire Longwood (23-20, 14-4 Big South) line up was able to connect its bats. The team recorded a season-high 15 hits while scoring in every inning.

"A lot of our success came down to being really clear with our plan going into the game," Brown said. "The team bought into it full stop and executed beautifully. They were themselves, and that's when they are at their best."
 
Alexis Wayland (3-3) was a homer shy of the cycle. The senior started her first game of the year at third base, and opened the game up with an RBI triple in the top of the first.
 
Sydney Jacobsen, another senior, went 3-3 from the plate. The slugger hit a homer and scored three runs for the Lancers.

"They've both been playing really well as of late and hitting the ball really hard," said Brown. "They've both been working hard in the cages on adjustments and are now seeing the fruits of their labor.
 
Madison Blair went 2-3 at the plate, knocking her second career home run out of the park over the left-center wall. The senior from San Diego record a game high four RBI's. That was part of the rally in the fourth that saw the Lancers send 11 to the plate, scoring seven, as everyone got involved.

"It feels like an avalanche of offense," Brown said about what happens when the team gets on a roll. "It's fun to see them help each other. We talk about how we view success, and if my success is the team's success, that's the best philosophy. When they work together on all the execution points, those are the things that make it fun.
 
George Mason (17-20, 6-9 A10) turned three hits into two runs, but that wasn't enough as Sydney Backstrom (16-9) earned the win in the circle for Longwood. Backstrom struck out four and retured 10 straight after a slow start in the first inning.
 
Carly Cooper (7-7) took the loss in the circle for George Mason.
 
Game Two: Longwood Cleans Up The Doubleheader In Fight To The Finish
 
After an early finish in game one, Longwood grabbed another 4-0 lead after the team's first at bat in game two.
 
The Lancers pounded out five hits in a row to start the game. Jacobsen clobbered her second homer of the day with a bomb to dead center. She finished the day 5-7 at the plate after going 2-4 with three RBI in game two.
 
However, George Mason didn't go away. The Patriots went on a scoring spree to almost match the Lancers in the home half of the second by taking advantage of free passes to trim the lead to 4-3.
 
The score stood at 4-3 for the next four innings turning the game into a defensive battle between the teams. Jerzie Nutile was excellent after coming on in relief in the second inning as she scattered eight hits over five innings of work. The freshman earned her first collegiate win while striking out five.

"Shas been working so hard in practice, and she's really grown as a pitcher," Brown said of her freshman righthander. "She's bought into everything and she's really learned how to use her pitches to help each other. I'm so very proud of her hard work and how she's grown."
 
In the fifth, Kayley Devivi poked a one out triple to left field before scoring on a wild pitch, and that started a sixth-inning rally for the Lancers. Four runs later, they led 8-3.
 
George Mason made it interesting in the seventh by loading the bases with no outs, but Sydney Backstrom closed the game out to earn the save.
 
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