Longwood University Athletics

RALEIGH, N.C. - Longwood currently looks at a seven game winning streak going into Wednesday nights matchup against ACC competitor NC State. Longwood sits at 9-3 in the Big South with its competition sitting at 5-10 in its conference play. Longwood held its opponents last week to six hits, and only four runs. 

LONGWOOD GAME NOTES 
NC STATE LIVE STATS 
ACC NETWORK (ESPN+)


The First Pitch:

• The Lancers (16-18) continue its mid-season win streak extending it to seven games after another sweep over a Big South opponent - Hampton. Longwood enters its midweek game with an overall 1-2 record against the ACC competitor NC State, looking to continue on with its momentum built over the last two weeks.
• Longwood's RPI ranks first in the Big South and 47th in the country, with Campbell being the closest behind at 74. The Lancers have linked back-to-back Big South sweeps over North Carolina A&T and Hampton, with the last time they had two sweeps in a season being back in 2019, where they did so over Campbell and USC Upstate (not consecutively).
• Sydney Backstrom continues on with her strong super-senior run as Longwood's ace. Last week, Backstrom held a 3-0 performance against Hampton and Virginia, pitching three complete games. Backstrom only allowed six hits on the week against her, and added 33 strikeouts, and another shut out. Backstrom now has 159 K's on the year, and a b/avg against of .169 - best of her Lancer career thus far.
• Wayland continues to be the spark on offense for Longwood. She added three RBI's and three doubles last week (.317 b/avg, .554 slg%).
• Sophomore Kayley Devivi knocked her third home run of the year over the fence against Hampton over the weekend. Getting into a rhythm now, Deviv had two home runs, five RBI's and two doubles last week.   
• 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 (10-9), was picked as the Preseason Pitcher of the Year in the conference. Backstrom has backed up the votes earning two Big South Pitcher of the Week honors in the 2022 season, so far. She grabbed her second conference award after her huge week, topped with a conference sweep on their home turf. 
• Reagan Kanagawa also stepped up in the conference sweep over Hampton over the most recent weekend, grabbing her first ever collegiate no hitter. Kanagawa pitched in game two of the series over the weekend grabbing the win (12-1) surrendering no hits to the Pirates.
• Alexis Wayland has had a stellar start to her senior year. She's grabbed 22 RBI's, five home runs, seven doubles, and a triple so far from the plate. Wayland has started behind the plate in every game this season earning a .976 fld% with 221 PO. Wayland leaded Longwood with a .317 b/avg and a .554 slg% - best in both categories for the Lancers. Wayland hit back-to-back home runs in game one against North Carolina A&T, stamping her first multi-homerun game.
• Kayley Devivi has stepped up in efficiency from the plate for Longwood. Now sitting with the second best slg% at .500, the sophomore outfielder has charted a .303 b/avg, 10 RBI's, three homers, and four doubles.
• Wayland leads the team in RBI's and home runs, with Lauren Taylor and Korynna Anderson following short behind. Taylor now has 14 RBI's on the year, with Anderson sitting with 15 and three home runs. Anderson hit her first home, homer at her new home at Lancer Field 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 51 steals on 67 attempts, over 34 games.

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