FARMVILLE, Va. – Mason Basdikis picked a special day to swat her first collegiate home run, and the Longwood softball team polished a sweep of Winthrop with a 9-3 win to clinch a share of the Big South regular season title.

"Great team win, and I couldn't be more proud of our team," said Head Coach Megan Brown. "They have worked so hard, all year long for this. We're excited for the Big South tournament coming up this week."
 
The senior pummeled a grand slam over the left field wall in front of her family as the Lancers (30-22, 21-6 Big South) celebrated senior day.
 
The grand slam was part of a day that saw the Lancer offense crank out three homers, one shy of their season high. Both Alexis Wayland and Lauren Taylor also deposited balls over the outfield wall over the first two innings, and the Lancer offense saw eight players notch a hit.
 
The explosive offense provided separation as Angelina Sherba (1-1) tossed five strong relief innings to earn the win. The senior left-hander came on to start the third inning and gave up five hits and three runs, none earned. She struck out a pair, including Winthrop's Lauren King to end the game. Sydney Backstrom opened the game with a pair of scoreless innings and five strikeouts.
 
For Winthrop (18-37, 10-17 Big South), Paige Rivas and Ashton Vanhouse both collected a pair of hits and scored a run apiece, but it wasn't enough.
 
Reese Basinger (10-14) took the loss in the circle after giving up seven runs in 3.1 innings of work. The freshman surrendered five hits and walked two while striking out five.
 
Wayland opened the scoring with an emphatic swing in the bottom of the first. She hit her eighth homer of the season over the center field wall for a 2-0 lead.
 
Taylor then followed it up by uncorking a rocket over the left field wall to start the second inning.
 
Basinger settled down and got into a rhythm after that and retired six straight for Winthrop, but Sherba and Backstrom handled business through the first three as well.
 
Winthrop took advantage of a Longwood miscue in the fourth to get on the board, but Basinger hit Sydney Jacobsen before walking both Taylor and senior Madison Blair to load the bases with one out. Basdikis stepped to the plate and took an 0-1 pitch deep to left to break the game open for a 7-1 lead.
 
While Winthrop scored a pair of unearned runs in the fifth, Longwood had the answer on a pinch-hit RBI single from Kelly Park, and Sherba retired the final six batters she faced to preserve the win.
 
With the Lancers claiming a share of the regular season title, they await the results around the league to determine their seeding heading into the Big South Tournament. The tournament runs from Wednesday, May 11 to Saturday, May 14, with Longwood serving as the host. The top six teams in the league advance to the tournament, with the top two seeds receiving a first round bye. Every game of the double-elimination tournament will be aired on ESPN+.
 
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