FARMVILLE, Va. – Senior Elizabeth McCarthy and sophomore Sydney Gay combined for a three-hit shutout to lead the Lancers to a 4-0 win and a series sweep of Gardner-Webb Sunday afternoon at Lancer Field.

Coming off her third career no-hitter in the second game of Saturday's doubleheader, McCarthy drew the start in the circle. She worked a perfect opening inning, before Gardner-Webb got their first hit of the weekend off the back-to-back Big South Pitcher of the Year in the second inning.

"She wanted the ball today," said head coach Kathy Riley of McCarthy coming off a no-hitter Saturday. "Biz was so dominant yesterday that we thought we'd start her. Her location was good once again today and she looked confident again today."

McCarthy (5-6) earned her fourth win in her last five starts, as she tossed four scoreless innings on three hits and a walk. Sydney Gay came on to relieve McCarthy in the fifth and pitched the final three innings to pick up the save retiring all nine batters she faced with four strikeouts. Together, Gay and McCarthy combined to retire the final 13 Runnin' Bulldog batters they faced.

"We decided to give them a little bit of a different look in the last three innings, so we brought Sydney in and she pitched real well," Riley said.

With her four strikeouts in Sunday's game, McCarthy moved past Winthrop's Shahana Ashard for ninth place all-time on the Big South's career strikeout list. McCarthy now sits three strikeouts from passing former Coastal Carolina standout Kiana Quolas and moving into eighth overall on the list.

In the three-game weekend series against the Runnin' Bulldogs, the Lancers didn't allow a single base runner to advance past second, as McCarthy and Gay combined to hold Gardner-Webb to an .097 batting average throughout the weekend.

"With Biz and Sydney both throwing the ball well, we knew they weren't going to hit the ball hard," Sweeney said. "When they're pitching that well it also helps us as batters, because it allows us to be a little more aggressive and look for a pitch to drive to get some runs."

Kelsey Sweeney was one of seven different Lancers to record a hit in the outing, as she had an RBI double to give Longwood a 3-0 advantage in the fifth inning. In addition, Jessica Smith had an RBI single in the second inning to give Longwood the lead.

"I went into that at-bat knowing I needed to get those two runs in, so we would have a little more of a comfortable lead," Sweeney said. "I wanted to stay aggressive and was just looking for a good pitch to hit."

The series sweep for the Lancers (15-20, 4-5 Big South) marks their first of the season, as Longwood extends its winning streak over the Runnin' Bulldogs (11-25, 4-7 Big South) to 17 straight since joining the Big South prior to the 2013 season. Longwood also extends its win streak to eight straight on its home field.

"Anytime you can sweep a three-game series is a big deal," Riley said. "It was a goal of ours to come out and move up in the conference standings."

Mackenzie Thompson (3-11) took the loss, throwing four innings and giving up just one run on five hits. She also walked one and struck out a pair. Ashley Wark came on at the start of the fifth and allowed three runs, two earned, on two hits and a pair of walks.

Longwood took a 1-0 lead in the second inning after Krista Kelly reached on an error, before stealing second and third. She was brought home on a bloop single from Jessica Smith into center field.

The Lancers added to their lead courtesy of a Sweeney RBI double to right center in the fifth inning to bring around Glenn Walters and Destiny Martinez, who came on as a pinch runner for Karleigh Donovan.

The Lancers got their final run of the day off an error by Gardner-Webb right fielder Maddi Johnson to bring home Leanna Toler, who came on as a pinch runner.

Longwood travels to Blacksburg, Va., Tuesday, April 11 for a single game against ACC foe Virginia Tech. It will mark the third and final ACC opponent Longwood will face this season. First pitch is set for 7 p.m., and the game will be on Kickin' Country 92.9 WVHL with Darius Thigpen on the call.

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