BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. --Â The Longwood softball team begins Big South Conference play Saturday and Sunday with three games at Gardner-Webb The series opens with a 2 p.m. doubleheader at Brinkley Softball Stadium and wraps up with a single game Sunday at noon with all three games slated for ESPN+.
SHORT HOPS
▪ The Lancers are 32-1 since the 2010 season against the Runnin' Bulldogs, having outscored GWU, 237-67, while scoring an average of 7.18 runs per game.
â–ª Longwood has played the 28th most difficult schedule in NCAA Division I softball this season as of March 14 with a cumulative record of 624-453-4 (.579), combining both past and future opposition.
â–ª Three of the Lancers' seven wins this season are of the come-from-behind variety. Longwood defeated Villanova, 6-5, on Feb. 10 at Georgia Tech after trailing, 4-2, in the second inning. LU also topped Stetson, 9-6, and Brown, 6-4 in eight innings, March 2 at Tennessee, falling behind, 4-0 and 4-1, respectively, through two innings.
â–ª Longwood leads the Big South Conference in home runs per game, hitting 0.61 though 23 games. The Lancers are 4-5 this season when hitting at least one homer.
BY THE NUMBERS
3 ▪ Sophomore Sophia Knock leads the Big South in three stats March 13. They are: home runs (7), home runs per game (0.30) and slugging percentage (.695).
8 ▪ The Lancers were slated to play eight teams that advanced to the 2023 tournament, including Women's College World Series teams, Alabama and Tennessee.
2 ▪ LU earned a pair of victories in 2023 against teams in the top 10 of the national polls, winning at No. 4 Florida State on Feb. 11, 5-4, and versus No. 8 Duke April 26, 4-3.Â
5 ▪ A league-high five Lancers were named to the 2024 preseason All-Big South Team – Korynna Anderson, Er'ron Burton, Lauren Fox, Maryanna Guy and Lauren Taylor.
18 ▪ Longwood has played to a 542-359 (.602) record since becoming Division I eligible for the 2007 season. The Lancers are in their 18th season in Division in 2024.
LANCERS TIED ATOP BIG SOUTH PRESEASON POLL
Longwood was picked in a tie for the top spot the 2024 Big South Conference Preseason Poll, released Jan. 24. The Lancers received four first-place votes and 45 points in the poll to tie with USC Upstate.Â
BIG SOUTH PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Catcher Maggie Hiatt earned Big South Freshman of the Week March 4 after hitting .600 (6-for-10) with a home run, two doubles, seven RBIs with a 1.100 slugging percentage, helping Longwood to a 3-1 week with two wins over Brown and one against Stetson at the Tennessee Classic. It was the second consecutive week the Lancers earned a Big South weekly honor following Sophia Knock's Player of the Week nod Feb. 27.
BIG SOUTH DOMINANCE
Since joining the Big South Conference in 2013, Longwood has emerged as the league's premier team. Under former head coach Kathy Riley, who retired after the 2020 season, the Lancers won five of seven Big South titles, doing so in 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2019.Â
Longwood's five Big South championships are the third most in league history and the most by any team in a seven-year span. Only Coastal Carolina (1992-2012) and Winthrop (1987-Present) have won more, with six titles apiece.
The Lancers have won the last two consecutive Big South regular-season titles under fourth-year head coach Dr. Megan Brown.
LONGWOOD IN NCAA REGIONALS
Longwood has advanced to five NCAA Division I regionals and reached the regional final in 2016 and 2017. The Lancers played in the NCAA postseason in 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2019, tying former member Coastal Carolina for the most regional appearances in Big South history.Â
Longwood is 5-10 overall in NCAA Division I regional play, securing the most NCAA postseason wins by any Big South softball team. The Lancers played to a 2-4 in a pair of NCAA Division II regionals in 2002 and 2003.
KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK
Against Northern Iowa Feb. 23, infielder Sophia Knock become the fourth Longwood player in history with a three-home run game and first since Emily Murphy did it in an 8-6 Big South tournament victory over Campbell on May 11, 2013. Knock also joined Stanford's Aly Kaneshiro and Kassidy Moore of Mercer, as one of the only three players to hit three home runs in a game this season. She leads the Big South in home runs per game (0.30) and home runs (seven), ranking 38th and 49th, respectively, in the NCAA.
CHAPIN STRONG IN THE CIRCLE AT EAST CAROLINA
Right-hander Maggie Chapin posted consecutive complete-game wins versus Fairfield and in defeating East Carolina, 5-2, in game one on Feb 18. Chapin handed the 21-5 Pirates their first loss, allowing six hits, one walk and one earned run with a career-high nine strikeouts. She finished the weekend 2-1 with a 1.62 ERA in 17 1/3 innings pitched.
CHAPIN CONTINUES STRONG START AT TENNESSEE
Maggie Chapin went 3-0 with a 2.19 ERA in 16 innings at the Tennessee Classic last week. She posted her second complete-game shutout, 4-0, over Brown Saturday, scattering three hits and two walks while striking out four. Chapin also beat Stetson, 9-6, in 5 1/3 innings Saturday and vultured a win out of the bullpen against Brown Sunday, tossing 3 2/3 scoreless innings to win 6-4 in eight innings.
KEEPIN' IT 100
Fourth-year head coach Dr. Megan Brown is just one win away from 100 career coaching wins, coming into play this weekend at 99-89 (.527) overall.
EVERYDAY TAYLOR
Graduate shortstop Lauren Taylor has played in 207 career games for the Lancers, a figure that ranks 43rd in NCAA Division I among active players.Â
VINSON WINS NFCA RAWLINGS GOLD GLOVE AWARD
Junior outfielder Emily Vinson played errorless ball in 68 chances in left field last year to earn an NFCA Rawlings Gold Glove Award. Vinson, who had seven outfield assists, became the first mid-major player to earn the recognition in the award's second year of existence.
