Skip to Content, Navigation, or Footer.
The Rotunda Online
The Rotunda
Thursday, July 24, 2025

Softball Ends Losing Streak in Big Way

After getting swept by Coastal Carolina last week, the Longwood softball team headed into their weekend series against Gardner- Webb with one thing on their mind: redemption.

They left little doubt as to who the better team was in Farmville this weekend, sweeping Gardner-Webb to move to 22-10 overall and 8-4 in the Big South.

The three-game set was slated to begin on Saturday with a doubleheader and finish on Sunday afternoon, but was pushed up to a single-game start on Friday in an attempt to beat Sunday’s snow system. A six-run second inning powered LU to an 8-0, five-inning victory on Friday, as the Lancers left three on base in the bottom of that second frame. Sophomore Megan Baltzell was 2-for-2 with one RBI, and Emily Murphy was 1-for-3 with two RBI. Libby Morris earned the win with three baserunners allowed on 11 batters faced in three innings of effort.

Baltzell continued to prove herself on Saturday as one of the team’s strongest offensive threats, going 1-for-2 with three runs in the first game and blasting a walk-off shot to center to secure the mercy-rule win in the daycap. Baltzell was 2-for-4 with four RBI in the second game.

In the first day’s game, Gardner- Webb drew first blood before two runs in the first and a grand slam by Chelsea Sciacca blew the game wide open. Sciacca’s bomb to left scored Murphy, Baltzell and Brooke Short. Brooke Short’s three strikeouts in three innings’ work were good enough for her 12th win on the year, while Ashley Cornell struck out two on the way to her second save of 2013.

In the final game of the series, Baltzell’s two-run homer to right- center made it 6-0 in favor of the hosts in the bottom of the 4th, and Libby Morris pitched a complete-game shutout en route to her 10th win of the season. Short was 2-for-3 in the day’s second game, as the Lancers had four extra-base hits. Baltzell’s home run, which landed in the cemetery across from the field and flew well over the fence to avoid traffic heading both ways, scored Rebecca Huitt as well, who was pinch running for Kori Nishitomi, who walked earlier in the inning.

Longwood plays Radford today at 4:00 at Lancer Field. The Highlanders are 8-17 with a 1-0 record in the Big South. Becky Mantel leads the Highlanders with a .313 batting average.

Trending