FARMVILLE, Va. – Longwood bounced back after falling to Campbell on Thursday to beat Presbyterian and USC Upstate in back-to-back games, surviving to play on Championship Saturday.
 
In a close matchup between the No. 3 Lancers and No. 5 Blue Hose, Longwood (33-23) pulled away with a 3-1 win to close out the morning game of the semi-final day.

"When you're fighting for a championship, there are so many factors," said Head Coach Megan Brown. "The team talked about those, and got everyone together and said these are the things we're going to focus on. I think today we had a good plan and we worked on the things that we can control."
 
A Sydney Jacobsen solo homer and late RBI's from Alexis Wayland and Sydney Guess secured the victory in the late innings over Presbyterian. 
 
The bats remained hot in game two, especially for Big South Second Team member Kayley DeVivi. Longwood faced No. 1 seed USC Upstate Spartans (48-10) for the first time since early March, and closed the complete game semifinal with a three-hit shutout to send the team back to South Carolina just short of a title after a remarkable year for the Spartans.

"It was nice to see us play Longwood softball," said Coach Brown. "Playing as a unit, having great reads on base, play strong defense, work together on both sides of the ball, so it was fun to watch play the way they are capable of playing. I'm super proud of them and what they accomplished today." 

Longwood readies now for a rematch of all rematches with the No. 2 seed Campbell Camels. The Lancers have to win back-to-back games to claim the Big South title while Campbell needs to win once, with the winner of the tournament earning a trip to the NCAA National Tournament. The game is scheduled for 5 p.m., with a second game scheduled for 30 minutes after game one if Longwood wins the first game.

"Campbell is extremely talented," said Coach Brown. "I think a lot of it is making sure we take care of the ball on both sides, making sure we execute when we need to, and we control the momentum of the game. Both of these teams like to be in control and its going to come down to taking care of it one pitch at a time."
 
Game One: Longwood 3, Presbyterian 1
 

Unable to convert more than one run in the top of the seventh, the Blue Hose (36-15) were eliminated by the Lancers in the postseason by a gem of a game from freshman righthander Er'ron Burton.
 
Game one saw a quiet start on offense for both teams with Burton (5-4) grabbing the start in the circle for the Lancers.

Burton avenged a regular season loss to the Blue Hose and matched her season best 11 strikeouts. The freshman kicked off the game with four hitless innings against the Blue Hose offense and earned the win.
 
Senior Sydney Jacobsen got things started at the plate for the Lancers on offense with a solo homer off the first pitch to lead off the bottom of the second.

"Jacobsen did a great job coming in and being aggressive at the plate," said Coach Brown. "This is something we talk about a lot about as a team, and its great to have that spark. She did a great job providing it today." 
 
Skipping ahead to the bottom of the fifth, senior Alexis Wayland took a turn in the box and smoked an RBI single to left field, scoring Lauren Fox and extending the lead for Longwood.
 
For Presbyterian, it was Jenna Greene (17-9) in the circle, who added five strikeouts on the 26 batters she faced in the 3-1 loss.
 
Game Two: Longwood 5, USC Upstate 0
 

In game two, it was Kayley DeVivi who showed up and stood out for Longwood's offense. The sophomore right fielder went 2-3 with an RBI double to center field and a solo homer in the home side of the fifth.

"She puts in the work," said Coach Brown. " KD makes really great adjustments, so I'm not surprised for it to payoff for her because of all the work she puts in to get better each day." 
 
On the other side of the ball for Longwood, it was Big South Pitcher of the Year Sydney Backstrom who dished a three-hitter, with seven strikeouts and her ninth shutout of the year.
 
Jacobsen, again showing offensive efficiency in game two, popped an RBI single to centerfield in her first at bat, scoring DeVivi in the top of the third.
 
Sydney Guess caught the "batters bug" and knocked an RBI double to left center later in the game to extend the lead for the Lancers.  

Across the board, Longwood grabbed 11 hits and no errors in the semi-final matchup to set up a showdown with Campbell on Championship Saturday.

"All of this started way back in the fall," said Coach Brown. "The first day our freshman stepped on campus, our upperclassman were committed to bringing everyone in the family. That has to be built like a skill set on the field, and now they see it coming to life, It is a testament to them and all the work they did up to this moment."  
 
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