ROCK HILL, S.C. – The Longwood Lancers and the Winthrop Eagles set course for a high-stakes Big South conference series today in South Carolina. Longwood recorded their best offensive day of the season, tallying 27 total hits over two wins. The Lancers now sit alone in second place in the conference and find themselves on the precipice of clinching a spot in the Big South tournament.

Longwood (23-16, 10-3) set the tone against Winthrop (26-20, 8-9) in game one, registering a season-high 16 hits and sent four shots over the outfield wall. In game two, timely hitting and solid play on the mound from Er'ron Burton helped Longwood secure the victory.

"I'm so proud of our team," said head coach Dr. Megan Brown. "Lot of fight, lot of grit. They're starting to see the fruits of their hard work."

Reggie Kanagawa held it down on the mound in game one for Longwood, tossing a complete seven innings while striking out four.

The Lancers set several season milestones in game one, including 16 hits and four home runs, both of which were season-highs. Five players recorded two or more hits, including three-hit performances from Jaden Pone, Lauren Taylor, and Kate Westmiller.

Despite the offensive barrage, the game was closely contested for the majority of the time. The game was tied at three apiece headed into the sixth inning. However, a late surge by the Lancers scored five across the plate to seal an 8-4 victory.

"Our team has been working so hard all fall," said Dr. Brown. "We've been talking a lot about trusting [their] hard work. They've planted the crops, let them grow, now it's trusting the harvest is coming. Really proud of them for settling in and getting comfortable in the box."

Longwood and Winthrop found themselves in a tight contest in game two. The Lancers were down 2-1 after three innings thanks to a two-run homer by Winthrop's Macy McCall. However, the bats would again come alive for the Lancers.

Seven players connected on hits in game two, including back-to-back multi-hit games from Pone, Taylor, and Westmiller. The Lancers regained the lead in the sixth inning off of a Kayley DeVivi sac-fly.

Er'ron Burton earned the win for Longwood, throwing three scoreless innings with six strikeouts following a four inning, five strikeout performance by Maggie Chapin.

"I challenged the pitchers after our last outing to really step up," said Dr. Brown. "They've all been putting in extra time, they all had extra bullpens this week, and really worked hard to refine and trust that good work they've been doing."

The Lancers will complete their three-game series in Rock Hill tomorrow at 1 p.m. Following this series, Longwood will host No. 10/10 Duke University on Wednesday April 26^th.

"Every game is going to matter," said Dr. Brown. "We can't take them lightly, we can't settle. We have to play our best softball tomorrow because every pitch of every game is going to matter going forward."

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