February 26, 2011

Box Score: Longwood 8, Stony Brook 0
Box Score: Longwood 5, Quinnipiac 4

FARMVILLE, Va. - The Longwood University softball team defeated Stony Brook University 8-0 and Quinnipiac University 5-4 on the first day of the Longwood Classic at Lancer Field in Farmville. Senior Briana Wells|Romoland, Calif. (Paloma Valley) went 2-0 on the day and recorded her first seven-inning no-hitter in the win over Stony Brook (1-1). Junior Courtney Long|Mechanicsville (Hanover) went 3-for-6 with five RBI, including a grand slam home run. The Lancers (6-0) return to action on Sunday, February 27, when they host the second day of the Longwood Classic. The Lancers will play Stony Brook at 1 p.m. and host Bucknell University at 3 p.m. at Lancer Field in Farmville. Admission is free to all Longwood University softball games.

Against Stony Brook, the Lancers jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the first inning when senior Maggie Margadonna|Sea Girt, N.J. (Wall Township) (1-4) scored on a RBI single by classmate Nichole Simmons|Chesapeake (Hickory) (1-3). The Lancers added another run in the top of the fourth inning when Simmons scored on a sacrifice fly by Wells (1-2, RBI). Longwood pushed the lead to 3-0 when sophomore Brooke Short|Altavista (Altavista) drove in senior Kami Nuckols|Glen Allen (Patrick Henry) (2-4) in the fifth inning. Long (3-3, 5 RBI) drove in one run in the sixth inning on a RBI double to centerfield that scored junior Ashley Kramer|Ashburn (Broad Run) (1-4). Long put the game out of reach at 8-0 in the top of the seventh inning with a grand slam that just cleared the fence in left-center field.

Wells (5-0, 1.24 ERA) pitched seven hitless innings and struck out six with one walk in the victory. Colleen Matthes (1-1) gave up eight runs, seven earned, on 11 hits with three strikeouts in the loss.

Against Quinnipiac (2-4), the Lancers jumped on top 4-0 in the bottom of the second inning. Simmons (1-3) scored on a RBI single by Kramer (1-3). Wells (0-3) reached on a throwing error by the second baseman, then senior Tricia Nelson|Plainfield, Ill. (Plainfield Central) (0-2) hit a ball to second base. The throw to first was wide and Kramer and Wells both scored as the ball trickled down the fence. Nelson advanced to third on the play and scored on a wild pitch to end the scoring in the inning. Quinnipiac answered with a four-run outburst in the top of the fourth inning to tie the game. Sophomore Brittany Shotwell|Roxboro, N.C. (Louisburg College) entered the game at pitcher for the Lancers. Ashley Heiberger (1-4) reached on an error and Jordan Paolucci (1-3) was hit by a pitch to put runners on first and second. Kim Brzezinski doubled to drive in both runs and cut the Longwood lead to 4-2 with no outs. Joelle Jacobsen (1-3) singled to drive in Brzezinski to cut the lead to one run. Julia Sini (0-3) reached on an error and Lauren Salgado (3-3) had an infield single to load the bases. Wells re-entered the game at pitcher and struck out the first batter and forced a popup to get the second out of the inning. Bridget Figmic (0-2) drew a two-out walk to tie the game at 4-4 before Heiberger popped up to end the inning. The Lancers scored the winning run in the bottom of the fifth inning. Short (1-3) hit a two-out triple and scored when sophomore Jordan Cox|Springfield (Robert E. Lee) (1-3) reached on an error by the shortstop.

Wells picked up her fifth win of the season after giving up no runs on four hits with five strikeouts in seven innings. Shotwell  gave up four runs, two earned, on three hits. Emily O'Keefe (1-2) received the loss after giving up five runs, only one earned, on five hits with two strikeouts.