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ROCK HILL, S.C. – Sophomore Chelsea Sciacca/Whittier, California went 3-for-3 at the plate with two home runs and four RBI to help lead the No. 3 seeded Longwood University softball team to a 10-2 victory in five innings against No. 5 Winthrop University (28-29) in the 2013 Big South Conference Championship game on Sunday afternoon. This marks the first-ever Big South title for Longwood in its first year as a member of the league, adding a milestone to the team's already record-setting season. Sophomore Kori Nishitomi/Kaneohe, Hawaii added to the offensive effort with three hits, two runs and two RBI in four at-bats, while senior Brooke Short/Hurt notched a three-run home run to help the Lancers pull away in the fourth. Sophomore pitcher Libby Morris/Dillwyn tallied two strikeouts in a complete-game performance to register her fifth win at the tournament, improving to 21-8 for the season. Four Lancers earned spots on the Big South Conference All-Tournament Team, including Morris, who was named the Tournament MVP. Short, Nishitomi and sophomore Megan Baltzell/Stafford also earned All-Tournament honors. Longwood (41-18) has earned an automatic berth into the 2013 NCAA Softball Tournament, which begins Thursday, May 16. The Lancers' seed, regional site and first-round opponent will be announced on this evening's Selection Show at 10 p.m. on ESPNU.

“What a good feeling it is to be the first-ever Big South Champions for Longwood,” said head coach Kathy Riley. “Not only do we feel great, but we feel blessed to have this opportunity to be here. The kids were awesome to work with this year, and any time you really have a chance to go to a championship, you've got to work so hard to get there. A lot of it is about the personalities, their parents and how they were raised. I think we have a great group of kids and their hard work paid off for them today.”

The Lancers played solid defense in the top of the first, quickly retiring the Winthrop side in order with a strikeout from Morris, a diving catch in foul territory by freshman Jamie Barbour/Amelia (2-3) and a fly out to sophomore Katie Shinrock/Fountain Valley, Calif. (1-2, 1 run) in center. Nishitomi led off with a bunt single in Longwood's first trip to the plate. Short reached on an error by the second baseman and Sciacca followed with a hard-hit double past the WU third baseman to score Nishitomi, giving the Lancers an early, 1-0 advantage. Freshman Emily Murphy/Virginia Beach (1-2, 1 RBI) followed with a sacrifice fly to deep right field, allowing Short to tag up and hustle home to make it 2-0 in favor of the higher seed.

The Eagles started off the second with a high fly off the wall in left, but a strong throw in by Nishitomi kept it to just a single. Murphy cleanly fielded a hard grounder on the next play and got the lead runner at second to record the first out of the inning. The next batter popped up near the plate and the ball hit the heel of Baltzell's glove before dribbling out, but the catcher quickly recovered and fired to second for an out. Baltzell redeemed herself shortly after, making a sliding catch near the backstop to end the at-bat. In the home half of the second, Barbour lined a single through the right side and advanced to second on a groundout by Shinrock. Barbour then moved to third on a pass ball, but she was stranded there, as Winthrop forced a groundout to extinguish the opportunity.

Longwood sat down the Eagles' side with three quick outs in the third, thanks to a groundout to Morris, a line out to senior Jordan Cox/Springfield (1-3, 1 run) and a strikeout. In the Lancers' next time at the dish, Baltzell drew a walk, but was out at second on a fielder's choice by Short, bringing up Sciacca, who drilled her first long ball of the tournament and her fourth of the season over the fence in center to put Longwood on top, 4-0. Murphy followed with a double up the middle before she moved to third on a groundout by freshman Carly Adams/Colonial Heights (0-2, 1 run, 1 bb), but she was unable to cross the plate before the inning expired. Longwood continued to play great defense in the fourth, as Winthrop went three up and three down once again. The Lancers then rolled the momentum into the bottom of the inning, as the squad used a four-run rally to pull away. Shinrock got things started by legging out a bunt single and Nishitomi drove a base hit up the middle to put runners on first and second with one out. Short, who stepped up with two outs, ripped a three-run, line-drive home run to right field to give the Lancers a 7-0 lead. Sciacca made it back-to-back long balls when she belted one off the scoreboard to give the higher seed an eight-run margin.

Winthrop would not go quietly, however, putting two runs on the board with two outs in the top of the fifth to stave off the mercy rule decision for another half inning. The Eagles recorded a two-out single to right field to put runners on the corners and extend the inning. The next batter reached on an error and the lead runner scored unearned on the same play. Winthrop added another RBI single down the left field line to make it 8-2.

In what proved to be the Lancers' final trip to the plate, Adams led off with a walk. Cox and Barbour followed with one-baggers to load the bases. Nishitomi stepped up to the dish and doubled to left to score both Adams and Cox, securing the walk-off, mercy rule decision.