The Longwood softball team is
gearing up for its first appearance in
the Big South Conference tournament.
The Lancers (33-14, 13-5 Big South) got
swept in the weekend series at No. 3
Florida and, according to Head Coach
Kathy Riley, the trip was a learning
experience.
“I felt like, in the first two games,
we held our own,” Riley said. The
Lancers dropped those games 5-1 and
9-5, respectively. The leading batter for
the Lancers in game one was freshman
Emily Murphy. Murphy went 2-for-3
and drove in the only run of that game
for the Lancers in the top of the fourth
inning. The RBI single scored Amy
Putnam and cut the deficit to 2-1.
However, that is as close as Longwood
would get as the Gators added three runs
in the sixth. Sophomore Libby Morris
got the start and went five innings while
giving up three runs on five hits while
striking out one.
Senior Ashley Cornell came in in relief
during the sixth inning and gave up no
runs and no hits while striking out once.
In game two, sophomore standout
Megan Baltzell led the way by going
1-for-3 with 4 RBI and one run scored.
After tying the game up at 2-2, the Gators
opened up a 9-2 lead over the Lancers.
In the top of the seventh inning, Baltzell
blasted a three-run home run to cut the
lead to 9-5. The Lancers were not able to
get any closer following that homer.
The Gators took care of business in
game three and blanked the Lancers in
an 8-0 no-hitter. Florida junior Hannah
Rogers pitched all six innings for the
Gators and silenced the usually potent
Lancer lineup. Riley said, “When you
play good teams, the pitching is just a
little bit better in terms of location and
movement.”
Riley believes that exposure to this
level of play at this stage of the season
was good preparation for the Big
South Tournament. “We were really,
really happy coming out of there that it
[hopefully] motivated us to go back to
practice to be ready for a championship
run.”
According to Riley, the team needs
to do a better job of swinging at the
“first good pitch. When go play against
Florida, there are less good pitches [to
hit]. They are really on the corner and
instead of taking that pitch, you really
have to be aggressive. It might be the
best pitch you see in the whole at-bat.”
The Lancers have six games left in the
regular season before tournament play.
Starting on Friday, the Lancers open
their final home series of the season
against the Presbyterian Blue Hose.
Following the series’ conclusion
on Sunday, the Lancers will
travel to Buies Creek, N.C. to
take on Campbell. Both of those
are Big South series.
Despite the fact that the
Lancers are guaranteed a spot in
the tournament, Riley and team
will still fight to the finish. Riley
said, “We realize that we are
going to have to win five out of
six games to have a chance to be
in first place. Our ultimate goal
is to put ourselves in position
[so that] we can get there.”
At the moment, the Camels
are in first place with a 35-16
overall record and are 17-4 in the
conference.
Heading in to the Big South tournament
in Winthrop, Riley notes that the Lancers
are a stronger road team this season. On
the year, Longwood has posted a 19-6
record away from Farmville.
Riley said, “That speaks well for us
going into the tournament at Winthrop
and feeling comfortable.”
For the game against Presbyterian
on Friday, senior Brooke Short is the
probable starter. “Brooke has been the
most consistent pitcher of the three
[starters].” On the year, Short has a 17-6
record with a 2.67 ERA and a team-high
88 strikeouts.
Game one of the Presbyterian series
begins Friday at 2 p.m. at Lancer Field.
Riley said, “I feel like we are a young
team and the more experience we get,
the better we seem to get at [playing].”
