FARMVILLE, Va. – Junior right-hander Sydney Gay gave up four hits and struck out 11 Hampton batters to lead the Longwood softball team to a 2-1 win over the Pirates Tuesday afternoon at Lancer Field.

Gay's 11 strikeouts marked a season-high for the Carrollton, Va., product, as she gave up just four hits and one unearned run in her seventh complete-game performance of the season. The junior completed the four-hit outing in 98 pitches, 71 for strikes.

"I thought Sydney did very well," said Longwood head coach Kathy Riley. "She didn't leave too much out on the table. She was throwing her curveball and her rise ball both effectively. She did a nice job adjusting when she realized they couldn't catch up when she threw higher in the zone. The strikeouts did help us because we had less balls in play and Hampton has good team speed, so it was an advantage for us to have 11 strikeouts."

The performance from Gay (15-7) marks her third career outing with 10-plus strikeouts, as she secured her third straight season eclipsing the 100-strikeout mark and finished two punchouts shy of matching her career-high. With her latest gem Tuesday, Gay lowers her ERA to 1.70, the lowest among any pitcher to throw at least 65.0 innings in the Big South.

"I felt good out there today," Gay said. "Bug [Batten] and I had a good connection. I threw a lot of curves and was throwing the ball quite a bit harder than I normally have because I was more relaxed. Bug noticed that they were being really aggressive, so we started to throw more off the plate to try to get them to chase and take advantage of their aggressiveness."

Longwood's (21-11, 7-2 Big South) latest triumph is its 12th in the past 15 games against a Hampton (13-18) squad set to join the Big South prior to the 2018-19 academic year.

"I'm disappointed in today not in the result in regards to winning but with our competitive spirit and how hard we work to find our best game which we didn't do," Riley said.

Destiny Martinez had two of Longwood's three hits in the game with a 2-for-3 performance. Martinez scored the game's eventual game-winning run on a delayed steal play as part of a two-run first inning. The multi-hit game for Longwood's second baseman is her fifth of the season.

Jordan Clark picked up Longwood's only other hit with a 1-for-3 performance and a run scored.

Allyson Babinsack (6-9) took the loss in the start for Hampton, allowing two unearned runs on two hits in two innings. Allie Hotetz came out of the bullpen to start the third inning and retired 12 of the 13 batters she faced in four innings.

Four different Pirates recorded hits off Gay, as Hampton's only run came on a squeeze play where Kial Watts brought home pinch runner Camille King.

For Tuesday's game, Longwood baseball and softball teamed together to support the fight against pediatric cancer with the Go4TheGoal game, wearing yellow armbands throughout the game in support for the cause.

"Anytime we have a chance to help others who are disadvantaged it's important to us," Riley said. "A lot of times we're just not aware of the challenges that other people have.
It's an eye-opener for us to see other people in their struggles and it gives us more of an opportunity to understand that we need to be thankful."

Longwood continues its 10-game homestand Wednesday, April 4, welcoming Elon to Lancer Field. First pitch is set for 5 p.m.

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