The Longwood softball team dropped a tough home loss to the Liberty Flames 8-7 on Monday night. The thrilling primetime affair dropped the Lancers to 27-11 (9-5 Big South) and ended an eight-game winning streak. The Lancers fell just short of a comeback bid when sophomore Katie Shinrock lined out to Liberty shortstop Holly Seiz in the bottom of the seventh.
The first three innings of the game belonged to the Flames. Liberty jumped out to an early 1-0 lead, thanks to an RBI single by junior Katie Zavodny. Zavodny led the way at the plate for the Flames by going 3-5 with two runs.
After Longwood tied the game at 1-1, Liberty took a commanding 5-1 lead in the game in the top of the third inning. In a rally that started with a Zavodny single, redshirt-junior Jill Stephen made it 2-1 on an RBI double. The four-run inning was helped by two throwing errors by Shinrock and freshman Emily Murphy.
Head Coach Kathy Riley said, “We just didn’t do a good job of fielding the ball.” The Lancers finished the game with six errors that resulted in four unearned runs. “I think we created most of those [scoring] opportunities by not making plays,” Riley added.
Longwood ace Brooke Short lasted five complete innings and gave up six runs (three earned) on eight hits. Riley said, “They didn’t really hit her that hard, but when you give people extra outs it just makes it more difficult.”
Through the first three frames, the Lancers were unable to get much production at the plate. Liberty’s starting pitcher, Chandler Bell, held the normally potent Lancer bats in check by allowing a mere three hits in five innings. Ball tossed 5.2 innings for the Flames and gave up six runs (five earned) off of eight hits while striking out two.
Riley said, “We were guessing too much early [in the game] ... I just don’t think we did a good job reacting to the ball." In the beginning, the most offense the Lancers were able to muster was in the bottom of the second inning. After Murphy was able to draw a leadoff walk, she got in to scoring position by stealing second. Sophomore Chelsea Sciacca made it payoff with an RBI double that was aided by an error.
With the bases loaded and the score still 5-1 in the top of the sixth inning, Riley decided to pull Short from the circle in favor of sophomore Libby Morris. “We just thought that Brooke was pressing a little bit in that inning,” she said. However, another error by Murphy extended the Flames’ lead to 6-1.
In the bottom half of the sixth, the Lancers turned the game around in tremendous fashion. The surge was sparked when Sciacca drew a one out walk. After senior Jordan Cox singled to load the bases, freshman Jamie Barbour made it 6-2 on an RBI single. Longwood continued to chip in to the lead after sophomore Kori Nishitomi made it 6-3.
The Lancers tied the score on a wild play where it appeared that sophomore sensation Megan Baltzell had a simple RBI single. However, Liberty right fielder Blair Lawrence bobbled the ball. This caused Nishitomi, Barbour and pinch runner Amy Putnam to score.
On the rally, Riley said, “I believe because we got down and got frustrated, we just kind of cleared our brains and were a little bit more relaxed.” The momentum switch did not last long, as Liberty answered right back in top of the seventh inning. After Morris hit Liberty sophomore Kelby Allen, a hard-hit RBI double by Seiz made it 7-6.
The Lancers attempted to comeback in the last half of the seventh inning. Murphy led off the inning by launching a solo homerun to left center. However, the rally would fall short with runners on first and second.
The win raises the Flames record to 17-18 overall and 6-7 in the Big South. The Lancers, meanwhile, are fourth in the conference following the loss. Longwood will now take to the road and try to get back on track. Up next for the Lancers is a two game series with the Radford Highlanders. Riley said, “Radford is a lot like Liberty in that they are scrappy.”
In the previous game against the Highlanders, the Lancers came out on top, 8-4. The game was close until the sixth inning with RBI singles by Murphy and freshman Carly Adams. Following the series with Radford, Longwood will again take on the Flames in a two game set in Lynchburg.
