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ROCK HILL, S.C. -- Behind a third consecutive complete-game shutout from freshman right-hander Sydney Gay, Longwood won its second straight Big South Softball Championship with a dominant 10-0 win over No. 5 seed Campbell Saturday afternoon at Terry Field. 56

The top-seeded Lancers (38-18) won four straight elimination games, including a 10-2 semifinal win over Coastal Carolina Saturday morning and the afternoon's championship win over the Cinderella-minded Fighting Camels (28-31). Gay was the hero in three of those wins, tossing shutouts against Presbyterian in Friday's 4-0 quarterfinal win before blanking the Chanticleers 5-0 later that same night and one-hitting Campbell in the championship game.

"This one is special for us," said head coach Kathy Riley. "We have a special group of kids and they were resilient throughout the season. They were a joy to coach. We're humbled by the fact that we were able to experience a championship together."

Gay was named the Big South Tournament MVP, joining Libby Morris as the only other Lancer to win MVP honors in the Tournament. She was joined on the Big South All-Tournament team by Kelsey Sweeney, Emily Murphy and Glenn Walters.

"This was awesome," Gay said. "During the game, I just focused on hitting my spots and if I do a good job of that than the accolades and things will come. Really, I don't try to overthink things too much."

For the tournament, Gay was 4-0 and didn't give up a single run in five appearances, three starts, while recording 24 strikeouts and allowing opponents to hit just .131 off her. Her performance in the championship game was dominant, as she tossed a complete-game one-hitter, allowing just two runners to reach base in the game.

"Today, I just tried to stay in the moment and focus on what I needed to do," Gay said. "My defense did a great job behind me of making plays throughout the tournament."

With her performance in the tournament, Gay moves into the top-five on Longwood's single season strikeout list with 164 this season. Together with Elizabeth McCarthy, the two are each among the top-5 and have combined for more 320 strikeouts this season and aided the Longwood pitching staff to a 2.17 ERA for the season – among the top-20 in the nation.

"Our pitching staff helped in taking the pressure off everyone else," Riley said. "They take the pressure off our offense and defense. It also helps our coaching staff because it allows us to go at a certain pace without having to rush things. As a group, our pitchers have given us a chance to win each game this season."

Longwood captures its second straight Big South Tournament Championship and its third overall since joining the Big South. The Lancers become the first program since Radford in 2009 and 2010 to win back-to-back regular season and tournament championships.

The win earns the Lancers the Big South's automatic bid to an NCAA Regional, the location and seeding of which will be announced during the NCAA Selection Show Sunday at 10 p.m. on ESPNU. The NCAA Tournament berth will be the third in the past four years for the Lancers, who have won three Big South Championships in their first four years as members of the league.

Longwood's entire offense backed Gay's one-hit effort in the title game, pounding out 14 hits en route to their second straight run-rule victory and the squad improved to 16-0 when having 10 or more hits in a game. Walters mashed two homers and drove in three runs, including a go-ahead home run that started the offensive onslaught in the bottom of the second inning. Sweeney added a home run in back-to-back fashion that same inning before the Lancers seized complete control with a six-run third inning.

With her two home runs, Walters homered in the championship game for the second straight season. With her two blasts Saturday, Walters hit three bombs in the tournament marked her second of the tournament and had five extra base-hits.

"I thought coming into today that our minds were in the right place, we were confident and trusted each other," Riley said.

Meanwhile, the senior class of Adams, Barbour and Murphy capture their third Big South Championship in their career and will leave as the winningest class in program history. With Longwood's five wins in the tournament, the senior trio has amassed more than 150 career wins and will now conclude their career in the NCAA Tournament – their third in their four-year career.

Riley, the two-time reigning Big South Coach of the Year, brought the Lancers back from a second-round loss to Campbell, which was Longwood's first Big South Tournament defeat since 2014. The Fighting Camels upset the Lancers 5-2 Friday morning and parlayed that win to their first-ever Big South title game appearance.

Following the loss to the Fighting Camels, Longwood fought off elimination four times, beating No. 6 seed Presbyterian in the quarterfinals, No. 2 seed Coastal Carolina twice in the semifinals and fifth-seeded Campbell in Saturday's championship game.

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