No. 1 Longwood Opens with 10-2 Win over No. 4 Winthrop
BUIES CREEK, N.C. – Longwood redshirt-senior Karleigh Donovan finished a double shy of the cycle to lead a Longwood hitting barrage and lift the top-seeded Lancers to a 10-2 run-rule win over No. 4 seed Winthrop to begin its quest for a fifth Big South Championship in seven seasons Thursday afternoon at Amanda Littlejohn Stadium.
BOX SCORE
A four-time All-Big South honoree, Donovan's 3-for-3 effort led a Longwood team that saw the Lancers combine for 10 runs on 11 hits, as the All-Big South second team selection finished a double shy of the cycle and added two runs, two RBI in support of Sydney Gay's two-hit effort.
Donovan was one of three Lancers (35-19) with multi-hit efforts, as Jordan Clark went 2-for-3 with an RBI and two runs scored to extend her hitting streak to 20 games. Alexis Wayland also went 2-for-3 with two RBI and one run, as seven Lancers finished the afternoon with hits.
Sydney Gay (12-9) allowed two runs, one earned, in five complete innings to earn the win. It's her sixth career win in the Big South Championship, as the All-Big South honorable mention selection added four strikeouts and threw 69 pitches, 42 for strikes.
Kaylynn 'Bug' Batten blasted her sixth home run of the season in the first inning to get the Longwood scoring barrage started, as the Lancers plated four runs in the inning and scored runs in all four innings. The Lancers also caused havoc on the base paths, swiping a season-high eight bases.
Kylie Majette (9-14) took the loss for the Eagles, allowing four runs on five hits in 0.2 innings.
Tori Walker blasted her fifth home run of the season in the second inning while Brooke Ellison had the only other Winthrop (27-24) hit in the game.
With the win, the top-seeded Lancers will face the winner of sixth-seeded Radford and No. 2 seed USC Upstate Friday, May 10 with a trip to the Big South Championship game on the line. First pitch is set for 2:30 p.m.