FARMVILLE, Va. — The Longwood softball team scored in seven of 10 innings for a 10-0, 8-0 sweep of North Carolina Central to open its home slate at Lancer Field on Sunday.
The Lancers banged out nine hits with four going for extra bases and
Sophia Knock went 3-for-3 with two doubles, two RBIs and a run scored to lead the charge in the first game. Right-hander
Maggie Chapin spun a complete-game shutout, allowing just three hits and two walks with seven strikeouts to improve to 2-3 on the season.
Longwood rallied for six runs in the second inning of the second game of the day, breaking open a 1-0 contest and then pushed across the winner on a
Kate Westmiller groundout that plated
Sophia Pisacano.
With the victories, Longwood improves to 4-6 on the season. The wins marked the Lancers' first consecutive shutouts since blanking Gardner-Webb, 4-0, on the road March 16-17, 2024.
"Very proud of how our team came out today," said Longwood head coach
Dr. Megan Brown. "They had the mindset they train for each day. They played together as a team and worked as a family. Proud of them."
Freshman
Bailey Bucholz smacked her first collegiate home run — a three-run shot — over the left-center field wall in the second inning of game two.
Maggie Hiatt followed with her second homer of the season, expanding the lead to 7-0.
Sophomore lefty
Cierra Gawryluk started in the circle, giving up three hits in three innings with two walks before
Sadie Armstrong made her college debut. Armstrong lasted 1 2/3 innings, allowed two hits, walked two and struck out two to pick up the pitching win.
Morgan Strickland struck out the only batter she faced in the fifth to help Longwood out of a bases-loaded jam.
The opener saw the Lancers score two runs in the first inning, four in the second, one in the third and three more in the fourth. Knock's booming doubles in the second and fourth frames, respectively, highlighted the offensive effort while North Carolina Central (1-9) committed three errors leading to three unearned runs.
Six different players collected hits for the Lancers in the first game with
Avery Drake hitting 2-for-2 with two runs scored and four stolen bases out of the leadoff spot in the lineup. Drake was 3-of-4 in the doubleheader, adding a double and a pair of walks.
Longwood is back in action Monday at Virginia's Mizuno Classic at Palmer Park, playing Delaware at noon and the host Cavaliers at 2:30 p.m. The game with UVA will be streamed on ACC Network Extra.
