CLINTON, S.C. -- The
Longwood softball team sets its sights on a sixth Big South tournament championship starting Thursday against USC Upstate. Longwood swept the Spartans in the final Big South series of the regular season April 26-27 to claim the No. 2 seed in the tournament.
SHORT HOPS
▪ Against the Spartans, Longwood batted .277 as a team, hitting five home runs, while also getting stellar pitching. The Lancers compiled a 1.33 ERA in the circle on the weekend and were led by senior right-hander
Er'ron Burton, who was 2-0 with an 0.50 ERA, a pair of complete games and one shutout. She allowed just one earned run in 14 innings while striking out eight.
▪ Longwood is 32-16 (.667) all-time in the Big South tournament since joining the league in 2013. Head coach
Dr. Megan Brown is 8-8 in four conference-tournament appearances with the Lancers.
▪
Avery Drake has now played 221 Division I softball games. She appeared in 121 at Houston Christian from 2020-23 and has played 100 in two seasons at Longwood. Drake is currently 35th in NCAA Division I in career games played among active players.
▪ Longwood is a combined 124-67 (.649) all-time against the tournament field, holding series advantages against all four teams. The Lancers are 42-28 against Radford, 16-9 against USC Upstate, 31-15 against Winthrop and 35-15 against Charleston Southern.
BY THE NUMBERS
10 ▪
Longwood will play 10 teams in the top 56 of the final 2024 RPI, including Women's College World Series finalist No. 1 Texas and super regional qualifier No. 11 Georgia.
63 ▪
Avery Drake is 40th in Division I among active players in career stolen bases with 63. She played at Houston Christian (2020-23), where she swiped 39 bags.
67 ▪
Through games of May 5, Longwood has played the 67th toughest schedule in Division I with its opposition amassing a 1,339-1,107-2 record (.547 winning percentage).
6 ▪
Head coach
Dr. Megan Brown has six wins over Power 4 schools in her time at Longwood. No other Big South institution has more than two since her arrival in 2021.
19 ▪ Longwood has played to a 577-406 (.587) record since becoming Division I eligible for the 2007 season. The Lancers are in their 19th season in Division I in 2025.
LANCERS LAND SEVEN ON ALL-BIG SOUTH TEAMS
Seven Longwood players were named to the 2025 All-Big South Teams, the league announced on Tuesday.
Catcher
Brooke Bennett earned All-Big South first-team honors and a spot on the All-Freshman Team, while senior right-handed pitcher
Er'ron Burton, redshirt sophomore designated player
Maryanna Guy and redshirt freshman second baseman
Avery Jefferson all earned second-team honors. Graduate student center fielder
Avery Drake and freshman left fielder
Sophia Pisacano were honorable-mention selections. Pisacano also joined Bennett on the All-Freshman Team. Junior right-hander
Maggie Chapin was the Lancers' representative on the Big South All-Academic Team.
Bennnett, who led the team with a .331 batting average in 47 games, became the first Longwood freshman since Jaden Pone in 2022 to be named to the first team.
DRAKE PLAYS ALL NINE
Playing her 100th game in a Longwood uniform and final game in Farmville, graduate student
Avery Drake punctuated the Lancers' senior day doubleheader by becoming the second player in as many days in Division I softball to play all nine positions in a single game on Sunday against Howard. She joined Mia Scott of Texas, who accomplished the feat Saturday versus Kentucky in just five innings.
POWER PLAY
Longwood hit 23 home runs as a team in 18 Big South games, a mark that led the league. No other team in the league has more than 12 homers in conference play.
BURTON TWIRLS GEM TO BEAT NC STATE
Senior right-hander
Er'ron Burton threw a two-hit, complete-game shutout as Longwood topped NC State, 1-0, in the first game of a non-conference doubleheader at Dail Softball Stadium April 15.
Burton worked her way out of several tight spots, but did not allow an NC State runner to reach third base in the game. She struck out two and walked three in throwing 99 pitches for her third complete game of the season.
GUY GOES YARD FIVE TIMES
Redshirt sophomore designated player
Maryanna Guy blasted five home runs in the Lancers' 5-1 week ending on April 27, helping her team beat Queens in a doubleheader and USC Upstate in the final Big South three-game series on the road. The five homers tied for the most in NCAA Division I for the week with Wichita State's Lauren Lucas. Guy earned her second Big South Player of the Week nod of the season with the performance. She has 11 homers on the season coming into ttournament play, the second most in the league.
THERE ARE ONLY FOUR
Longwood is one of only four teams in NCAA Division I softball to have returned all of its pitching staff from the 2024 season. The others are Jacksonville State, Notre Dame and North Dakota State.
DR. BROWN NAMED TO NFCA BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Head coach
Dr. Megan Brown was selected to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association Board of Directors, announced Oct. 21. Brown, who signed a five-year contract extension in the summer to stay in Farmville through 2029, is serving a three-year term as the organization's Vice President for Education, which began on Jan. 1, and is one of three first-time board members. Brown joins California junior college representative Marian "Speedy" Mendoza of Fullerton College and travel ball rep Suzy Willemssen of Virginia Glory.
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 following the 2020 season, the Lancers won five of seven Big South titles, in 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2019.
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 two of the last four Big South regular-season titles under fifth-year head coach
Dr. Megan Brown.
