After another winning campaign in 2012, the Longwood softball team has opened its 2013 campaign. The Lancers took both games in a double- header on the road against the North Carolina Central Eagles on Tuesday.
Sophomore Libby Morris got the start at pitcher in game one as the Lancers won 5-2. The offense was led by sophomore catcher Megan Baltzell who went 2-3 at the plate and drove in four of the team’s runs. In game two, senior Brooke Short got the win in the circle as the Lancers cruised to a 5-0 win. Short pitched four complete innings and struck out three of the 13 NCC hitters she faced.
The 2-0 start officially kicks off the 2013 campaign for a team that finished 29-26 after 14 of their final 20 games. It was the fourteenth winning effort for head coach Kathy Riley. Riley has coached the team since 1998.
As with most of Longwood’s athletics programs, this season will mark the first for the softball team in the Big South Conference. Riley says, “We are looking forward to the new season because it's our first chance to play in a conference in a pretty long time.”
The last conference the softball team played in was the Carolinas-Virginia Athletic Conference. Ri- ley led the Lancers to two conference tournament championships as well as two NCAA Regional Tournament appearances in the Division II era.
Riley also acknowledges that this will be a different season, saying, “We haven't prepared for the fact that everybody is going to give us their best game like they will in a conference situation.”
Longwood will face familiar rivals such as the Liberty Flames and the Radford Highlanders. The Lancers split last year’s season-ending double- header with the Flames. Longwood also dropped their only game against Radford after the second game of a scheduled doubleheader. The Lancers have played both teams on an annual basis.
The 2013 lineup will feature some of the same firepower from last year’s team. Returning to the team this season is standout catcher and first baseman Baltzell. Baltzell led the Lancers in hitting last season with a .344 average, 55 hits and 14 doubles. Baltzell also started and played in all 55 games for the Lancers.
In addition to Baltzell’s offense, the Lancers’ bullpen will feature seniors Short and Ashley Cor- nell. Last season, Cornell led the Lancers in pitch- ing with a 10-9 record on 18 starts and 27 appear
ances. Cornell was also second on the team with 69 strikeouts.
Short was second on the team in pitching with a 6-3 record, and appeared in 11 games in the circle. Another pitcher the Lancers will rely on is Morris. Morris was called on quite a bit in 2012 as she led the Lancers with 157 innings pitched in 33 ap- pearances. Morris finished the season with a 13-14 record with a team-high of 77 strikeouts.
Along with the returning players, the Lancers’ lineup will feature newcomers. Freshmen Emily Murphy and Carly Adams will start at shortstop and second base, respectively. According to Riley, Murphy is “one of the best all-around athletes on our team, has a good arm and is very smooth de- fensively.”
The Lancers will now come back home for the Lancer Leadoff starting on Saturday. The team will play two games each against the La Salle Explor- ers and the Quinnipiac Bobcats. Big South play for the Lancers will begin on March 5 as the team will travel to Winthrop for a three-game set against the Eagles.
Riley was unavailable for comment on this story; all quotes appear via LongwoodLancers.com.
