FARMVILLE, Va. – Coming off of a weekend sweep of Presbyterian in their Big South opening weekend, Longwood welcomed the George Mason Patriots to town for a midweek clash. The Lancers took care of business, winning game one 7-5 followed by a 6-0 shutout victory in game two.

Er'ron Burton and Leigha Hill got the job done on the mound for the Lancers in game one while Reggie Kanagawa threw a complete two-hit shutout in game two to seal the doubleheader sweep.

Game one against the Commonwealth foe wasn't all peaches and roses to start. George Mason (17-13) opened the game with a two-run RBI from Maddy Myers in the top of the first inning. However, Longwood (15-10) responded swiftly with three runs off the bats of Lauren Fox, Kayley DeVivi and Kelly Park in the bottom of the first frame to retake an early lead.

The game went back and forth throughout, as the Patriots would regain the lead by sending home three in the third inning.

Down by one in the fourth, Longwood's bats came to swing. Emily Vinson delivered an opposite field shot to left for her first home run of the season, tying the game at five apiece. Lauren Taylor proceeded to send Fox home with an RBI single of her own that proved to be the game-winning run. Taylor added another RBI single in the bottom of the sixth to effectively end the game and lock in a game one victory.

"I was pleased to see all the good adjustments at the plate tonight," said head coach Dr. Megan Brown on her team's offense. "Pleased to see [our players] continue to grow throughout the year, which is important from an offensive standpoint."

While game one was highlighted by multiple lead changes and big bats, the pace of play slowed down a bit in game two. The game's first run wouldn't come until the third inning largely in part to stellar play on the mound, specifically from Reggie Kanagawa.

The Lancers broke the scoring barrier in the third inning, as Peyton Coleman scampered home following a George Mason error. The runs wouldn't stop there in the half inning, as Lauren Fox and Lauren Taylor both grounded out into RBIs. Suddenly, the Lancers were in control 3-0.

With time running out and prospects of a comeback beginning to look bleak, Lauren Taylor put the icing on the cake in the fifth. The senior slugger delivered a cannonball to left center that scored three runs and put the Lancers on top for good.

Kanagawa stayed strong throughout the game, striking out the final batter to put the cap on a stellar complete game start.

"I was very pleased with all three pitchers tonight," said Dr. Brown. "They worked together, they used their pitches to help each other. When our defense locks everything down, it makes their job easier to turn loose and pitch."

Now riding a five-game winning streak, the Lancers set their sights on this weekend when Big South preseason number one USC Upstate comes to Farmville for a three-game series. Game one will be played at 6 p.m. on Friday while games two and three are set to take place starting at 1 p.m. on Saturday.

"It's going to be a tough series, Upstate is a talented team," said Dr. Brown. "We're going to have to have a good game plan, be very clear with execution, and playing together will really be big."

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