BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. – Junior Elizabeth McCarthy and freshman Sydney Gay combined for 24 strikeouts for the day, as the dynamic Longwood pitching led the Lancers to a doubleheader sweep over Gardner-Webb Saturday afternoon at Brinkley Softball Stadium.

McCarthy (13-8) posted 11 strikeouts – one shy of her career-high – in a 3-1 win in game one of the day, while Gay (11-5) posted a season-high 13 strikeouts to earn a 3-1 victory in game two of the afternoon.

"Both of our pitchers were very good today," said head coach Kathy Riley. "I thought both of them located very well. It's a true testament to their preparation because they've both been working very hard with Kayla [Miller] at practice. I think they're both reaping the benefits of their hard work."

The pair of dominant performances from the Longwood pitching staff is just the latest exhibit in what has been a strong season in the circle. Longwood – who is on pace to set a program record in the Division I era with a 2.26 team-ERA – has allowed three or less earned runs in 31 contests this season and ranks among the top-25 in the NCAA.

"It's been really effective for us," McCarthy said of the dominant one-two punch that her and Gay have formed. "Sydney and I have great chemistry together on and off the field. Really, our entire pitching staff has a great bond and that's definitely helped us as a group."  

With the wins, Longwood (25-15, 11-3 BSC) improves to a season-best 10 games above the .500 mark. In addition, the blue and white takes a two-game lead in the conference standings following their doubleheader sweep. Meanwhile, Gardner-Webb falls to 18-23 overall and 4-10 in conference play.

Kelsey Sweeney had a team-high three hits for the day. The sophomore hit her fourth home run of the season in game two, marking her second home run in the past three games. Emily Murphy and Kaylynn Batten each had a two-hit game in the opening game of the day. Murphy hit her fourth home run of the season, moving within eight of becoming the third player in program history with 50-plus home runs.

Longwood will go for the series sweep, as the two teams will play the series finale Sunday with a 2 p.m., start time at Brinkley Softball Stadium.

Longwood 3, Gardner-Webb 1
McCarthy gave up just two hits and struck out 11 Gardner-Webb batters, as a Murphy two run home run in the sixth inning lifted Longwood to a 3-1 victory in game one of the day.

The 11-strikeout performance from McCarthy – the reigning Big South Pitcher of the Year – was one off her season and career-high 12 strikeouts that she had at East Carolina earlier this season. The junior southpaw allowed just one hit after the first inning and two for the game.

It marked the seventh time in her career that McCarthy has posted 10 or more strikeouts and the second time this season for the Dunnsville, Va., product.

With the Lancers trailing 1-0 into the sixth inning, Murphy turned on a 2-2 pitch and sent it to straight away center field for her fifth home run of the season. That matches Glenn Walters for the team lead and brings the senior to within eight home runs of becoming just the third Longwood player with 50 home runs in her career.

"Of late, Emily has really been playing well and playing with a lot of confidence," Riley said. "We look to her for leadership and she, along with Carly [Adams] and Jamie [Barbour] have really done a tremendous job of accepting that role."

The Virginia Beach, Va., product has hits in 12 of her last 15 games and has had an extra base hit in four of the squad's last nine games.

The Runnin' Bulldogs opened the scoring in the first inning. McCarthy hit Jill Blank with one out in the inning before Amanda Gomes delivered a two-out double that got into the gap in left center to bring around Blank and give her squad a 1-0 lead.

From there McCarthy (13-8) and the Longwood defense took over. McCarthy worked quickly and effectively in the circle, retiring 13 of the next 14 Gardner-Webb batters. For the game, McCarthy threw 111 pitches and 72 for strikes.

Devyn Terry (4-6) took the loss for the Runnin' Bulldogs. She gave up three runs, two earned, on seven Longwood hits. She threw 96 pitches and 57 for strikes.

Carly Adams extended her hitting streak to three straight games in the sixth inning before Murphy's home run. The Lancers tacked on a run in the seventh inning after Krista Kelly reached on an error from shortstop Megan Gibbons. She later scored on an RBI infield single from Barbour to extend the Longwood lead to 3-1.

From there, McCarthy issued a two-out walk to Megan Champion to bring the game-tying run to the plate before  Callie Thornton popped up to Karleigh Donovan at third base to end the game.

Longwood 3, Gardner-Webb 1
Gay posted a season-high 13 strikeouts in the second game of the day and a two-run seventh inning home run from Sweeney lifted Longwood to a 3-1 win to sweep the doubleheader.

Gay, who posted her first career game with double figure strikeouts, now has four games with at least nine strikeouts for the season and goes over the 100 strikeout mark, giving Longwood its second pitcher with at least 100 punchouts this season.

"They were swinging at a lot of my pitches," Gay said. "I was throwing it off the plate quite a bit because I knew coming in that they're a pretty aggressive team. My curveball was pretty effective for me and I just tried to keep it down in the zone."

Coming into the game ranked eighth among rookies in the NCAA in ERA this season, Gay, a product of Carrollton, Va., lowered her ERA to 1.78 for the season which is among the top-50 in the nation and the Big South's lone sub-2.00 ERA.

Gay threw 122 total pitches and 87 of those for strikes. Of her 13 strikeouts, 11 came with the batter going down swinging.

Meanwhile, Sweeney went 2-for-3 at the plate with her fourth home run of the season. It marks the second time she has homered in the last three games, as she has hits in five of her last seven contests. In addition, the sophomore has raised her batting average to a season-best .291 which is fifth on the squad.

"One of the things about our lineup is that one through nine, everybody can hurt you," Riley said. "Kelsey had a tough start to the season and she's done a good job of working out of that. She's really been good as of late."

Summer Darnell (5-5) took the loss for the Runnin' Bulldogs. She gave up three run on six hits while striking out just one batter. She threw 96 pitches, 57 for strikes.

Longwood took the early 1-0 advantage courtesy a Donovan RBI single back through the middle to score Walters from second base. Walters got aboard with a one out walk before swiping second. Two pitches later, Donovan brought her home with her single.

After a Scarlett Harris home run in the bottom of the sixth, Kelsey Sweeney gave the lead right back to the Lancers with a two-run blast of her own in the seventh. Walters led off the inning coming back from an 0-2 hole to work a walk. She advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt from Donovan and a groundout from Kelly.

That brought up Sweeney who belted her fourth home run of the season on a 2-1 pitch. It marked the second home run for Sweeney in the past three games. 
 
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