FARMVILLE, Va. -- The Longwood softball team hosts its second tournament in as many weeks starting Thursday at Bank of the James Park. The Longwood Spring Break Classic features Youngstown State, Le Moyne and Lafayette. The Lancers are set for another six games on the weekend.
SHORT HOPS
▪ The Lancers are 4-1 all-time against the tournament field.
▪ The Lancers went 6-1 in seven games last week, sweeping through the Bank of the James Invitational. Longwood beat Youngstown State, Mount St. Mary's and Penn by a combined 54-22 with run-rule victories over Youngstown State once and Mount St. Mary's two times.
▪ Longwood second baseman Lauren Faulkner was named Big South Freshman of the Week on Monday. She batted .438 (7-for-16) with two doubles, one home run, six RBIs and a team-best 10 runs scored for the Lancers. She hit safety in all six games of the Bank of the James Invitational, posting two-hit outings against Hampton and Penn Saturday. Faulkner also scored in each game of the tournament. She hit her second homer of the season — a three-run blast — in the Lancers' 8-0 win versus the Mountaineers on Friday.
▪ Right-handed pitcher Maggie Chapin posted two more complete games last week and now has eight on the year, which is the second most in the nation. She trails only Belmont's Maya Johnson with nine.
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 Sunday. 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 586-420 (.583) record since becoming Division I eligible in 2007. The Lancers are in their 20th season in Division I in 2026.
CLIMBING THE CHARTS
Head coach
Dr. Megan Brown moved alone into second place on the all-time wins list at Longwood with Friday's five-inning 10-1 win over Youngstown State, passing Loretta Coughlin. Brown now has 139 in five-plus seasons with the Lancers,
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.
SCHOOL-RECORD 17
School-record 17 Longwood players were named 2024-25 Easton/NFCA All-America Scholars.
To be selected as an Easton/NFCA Scholar-Athlete, student-athletes must achieve a 3.5-or-better overall GPA on a 4.0 scale for the school year and this year's selections brings the Lancers' all-time NFCA Scholar Athlete total to 58.
Right-handed pitcher Er'ron Burton and designated player Maryanna Guy both posted perfect 4.0 GPAs.
Also earning selections this season as were: Brooke Bennett (3.969), Maggie Chapin (3.934), Maggie Hiatt (3.923), Avery Miller (3.862), Naleya Bridges (3.852), Kate Westmiller (3.834), Sarah Terrell (3.8), Sophia Pisacano (3.8), Peyton Simmons (3.693), Bailey Bucholz (3.679), Mallory Sanders (3.643), Erin Kirkland (3.625), Avery Drake (3.531), Cierra Gawryluk (3.53) and Sadie Armstrong (3.515).
