CARY, N.C. -- The Longwood softball team travels to North Carolina Central for the first time since 2013 on Wednesday for a doubleheader at Thomas Brooks Park. First pitch is set for 4 p.m.
SHORT HOPS
▪ Longwood has never lost in six all-time meetings with the Eagles. The Lancers won last season's games between the teams, 10-0 and 8-0, each in five innings, on Feb. 23 at Bank of the James Park. The series dates to 2012 with Longwood outscoring NCCU, 40-5, overall.
▪ Longwood right-handed pitcher Maggie Chapin ranks third in NCAA Division I with 13 complete games, just two behind Maya Johnson of Belmont and Makayla Stephens of Georgia State, who are tied for the national lead. Chapin is also sixth in the country in innings pitched (112), eighth in strikeouts (120) and 30th in saves (two) through games of March 23.
▪ Longwood sophomore catcher Brooke Bennett ranks second in the Big South with eight home runs, just one behind Gardner-Webb's Reese Collier. Defensively, Bennett is 26th nationally and second in the conference, throwing eight runners out runners from behind the plate.
▪ Longwood leads the Big South Conference in strikeouts per seven innings as a team at 5.72 though games of March 23.
BY THE NUMBERS
5 ▪
Longwood will play five teams that advanced to the 2025 NCAA tournament, including Southeastern Louisiana, Virginia, Virginia Tech, USC Upstate and Florida.
18 ▪ Longwood beat Mount St. Mary's, 18-10, in five innings, on March 1. It was the most runs the Lancers scored since a 20-4 defeat of St. Francis (Pa.) on Feb. 21, 2013.
6 ▪ Head coach
Dr. Megan Brown has six wins against teams that were either ranked at the time or are part of the Power 4 conferences in her time at Longwood.
20 ▪ Longwood has played to a 592-429 (.580) record since becoming Division I eligible in 2007. The Lancers are in their 20th season in Division I in 2026.
LANCERS PICKED THIRD IN BIG SOUTH PRESEASON POLL
Longwood was selected to finish third in the 2026 Big South preseason poll, the league announced on Jan. 21.
The Lancers received one first-place vote and 30 points in the voting. Radford headed the poll with five first-place votes and 47 points, while USC Upstate was second with the remaining first-place nod and 41 points.
Rounding out the poll was Winthrop in fourth with 29 points, Charleston Southern in fifth with 23, Gardner-Webb in sixth with 14 and Presbyterian with 12.
CHAPIN, KNOCK NAMED PRESEASON ALL-BIG SOUTH
Seniors Maggie Chapin and Sophia Knock were also selected to the preseason all-Big South team.
Chapin went 9-13 with a 4.51 ERA in 107 innings and 26 games in the circle in 2025. Knock batted .226 in 53 games with 10 doubles, six home runs and 20 RBIs. Both have earned all-Big South honors with Knock being named preseason Player of the Year prior to the 2025 season.
It marks the second straight season both players were named to the preseason all-Big South team.
BALTZELL TO THE HALL
Arguably the top offensive player in the history of Longwood softball, Megan Baltzell was announced as part of the six-member 2025 Longwood Athletics Hall of Fame class on Oct. 7. Baltzell's name is synonymous with excellence in the Longwood softball program, and the two-time Big South Player of the Year is a member of the Big South All-Decade Team. She was an NFCA Second Team All-American in 2013, and her named is littered throughout the Longwood softball record books. She was a three-time All-Big South First Team selection in her three years in the Big South, as well. She was also recently named to D1Softball.com's All-Quarter Century Team in the non-Power 4 power hitter category.
A prodigious power hitter, Baltzell's 76 home runs are the most in program history, and she also sits first in hits, RBIs, runs scored, doubles, walks, on-base percentage and slugging percentage. She also holds the top- two spots for home runs in a season (30 in 2013, 27 in 2015), RBIs (78 in 2013, 72 in 2015), and walks (66 in 2015, 44 in 2014).
Baltzell, a 2015 Longwood graduate, helped the Lancers win their first two Big South titles, in 2013 and 2015, and she earned NFCA All-Region honors three times (first team in 2013, second team in 2014 and 2015).
She will be the first softball player at Longwood enshrined in the hall of fame.
CHAPIN AMONG ACTIVE CAREER NCAA LEADERS
Senior right-hander Maggie Chapin currently ranks among the NCAA's active career leaders in several statistical categories through games of March 23. She is 14th in all of the NCAA in games started with 84, while being 14th in Division I. She is 27th in career innings pitched at 488 1/3 in all Divisions and 24th in Division I. Chapin is 28th in the country in all Divisions in pitching appearances at 114 and 26th in Divison I. She is also 41st overall in strikeouts per seven innings at 5.85 while ranking 31st in the category in Division I. Finally, she is 41st in career strikeouts at 408 in all Divisions and 38th in Division I.
LAYING THEM DOWN
Longwood ranks 10th in the NCAA and leads the Big South Conference in sacrifice bunts with 25. South Florida leads the country in the category with 36. Sophia Pisacano is 23rd in the country in sac bunts per game at 0.23, which also leads the Big South.
WE LIKE FREE BASES
Longwood ranks 33rd in the NCAA in walks drawn this season with 128 in 35 games. Oklahoma leads the category with 178 walks.
CLIMBING THE CHARTS
Head coach Dr. Megan Brown moved alone into second place on the all-time wins list at Longwood with the Feb. 27 five-inning 10-1 victory over Youngstown State, passing Loretta Coughlin. Brown now has 145 wins in five-plus seasons with the Lancers.
