FARMVILLE, Va. – Longwood softball made its home debut Thursday afternoon at Lancer Field, as the Lancer pitching combination of Sydney Gay, Sydney Backstrom and Arleigh Wood combined to hold Robert Morris to five hits to lift Longwood to a doubleheader sweep.

Gay tossed a three-hit shutout in game one as she was supported by a Jordan Clark two-run blast in a 2-0 Longwood win, before Backstrom and Wood combined to limit the Colonials (0-2) to a two-hit performance in a 4-1 victory in the nightcap.

"We had a nice team effort today," said Longwood head coach Kathy Riley. "We pitched really well and we played well defensively, so we played two of the three phases at a high level. Offensively, I thought we put ourselves in a good mental position. We hit some balls hard but they were right at [Robert Morris], but I think we'll see steady improvement throughout the season."

Longwood's pitchers were backed by a strong defensive effort that saw the Lancers play error-free ball throughout the afternoon, as the Lancer (4-2) pitching staff lowered its earned-run average to 1.97 on the season.

"We're really bonding together and having fun playing as a group," Carr said. "We play for each other. Coach always talks about if someone makes an error, make sure we make that next play. That's something that we've done well in the past couple games."

It marks the second straight season that the Lancers have opened their home schedule with a doubleheader sweep a season after going 14-6 at Lancer Field.

Jordan Clark's two-run home run in the first game of the day was one of two hits she had in the pair of games, as she was joined by Alexis Wayland with multi-hit days. Kasey Carr also had a pair of RBI in game two, as eight different Lancers had hits on the first day of the Lancer Launch.

"This is the most relaxed I've seen Jordan in her four years at Longwood and it's a culmination of the hard work she's put in," Riley said. "We have a lot of kids that are hard on themselves that do prepare well, so one of our biggest challenges is to make sure we get them to relax and to trust the work that we put in. We're starting to see that with Jordan. She's in a much better place than she was last year even though she's worked extremely hard every year she's been here."

Longwood wraps up play in the Lancer Launch Friday. Feb. 15, as the Lancers face Norfolk State in the second game of the day at 12:15 p.m.

Game 1: Gay's Complete-Game Shutout Leads Lancers Past Colonials

Sydney Gay tossed a three-hit, complete game shutout and Jordan Clark hit her first home run of the season to lead Longwood softball past Robert Morris in the opening game of the Lancer Launch by a 2-0 score.

"It seems like Sydney is always on her game every time she steps onto the mound," Riley said. "Sometimes we get spoiled because she's so consistent with the effort that she gives us on a daily basis."

Gay (2-1) faced four batters over the minimum while working around three hits and one walk. The Carrollton, Va., product struckout three batters, throwing 106 pitches, 68 for strikes.

"I competed well and tried to be aggressive," Gay said. "I didn't know a lot about them, but I just tried to stay aggressive and get first pitch strikes to make them swing."

Clark's second inning home run came on the first pitch she saw after Jenna Dunn led off the inning with a walk. Dunn later added a single for the second Longwood hit of the game.

"I was just looking for a good pitch to hit," Clark said. "I like to be aggressive with first pitches typically, so I went up there trying to help my team."

Laura Coulter (0-1) took the loss, going 5.0 innings and scattering two Longwood hits and two walks while facing 18 batters. Coulter threw 56 pitches, 32 for strikes before Kaitlin Ellzy came on to toss the final inning, allowing a walk.

Three different Colonials had hits in the game, including Taylor Bartlow, Madison Shiderly and Abrielle McCartney.

Game 2: Backstrom, Wood Combine for Two-Hitter

Sophomore pitchers Sydney Backstrom and Arleigh Wood combined for a two-hit effort to lift Longwood to their second win of the day over Robert Morris 4-1 Thursday afternoon at Lancer Field.

Backstrom (2-1) picked up her second win of the season, pitching 5.0 innings and allowing one run on two hits while racking up four strikeouts. She faced 19 batters, throwing 70 pitches and 52 for strikes.

Wood came on to pitch the final two innings, holding the Colonials without a hit to pick up her first save of the season.

"We're fortunate in that we can go to a number of different people, whether it's the pitchers that we have or making defensive changes we have a well-rounded group," Riley said. "Slim [Sydney Backstrom] and Arleigh held them to two total hits, so we have to be happy with that type of performance."

Seven different Lancers had hits in the game, as Kasey Carr had a team-best two RBI on a two-run double in the third inning.

Backstrom was supported by a pair of runs in the first inning, with Karleigh Donovan scoring on a passed ball following a one out single. Jenna Dunn followed Donovan with a single to third base to bring home Alexis Wayland and collect her team-leading sixth RBI of the season.

Longwood added to its lead in the third inning, as Carr lifted an 0-1 pitch to straight away center on a ball that hit off the top of the wall to narrowly miss Longwood's first grand slam of the season. With the hit, Carr brought home Clark and Leah Powell to provide Backstrom with a pair of insurance runs and a 4-1 lead.

"I wanted to be aggressive because I knew we had bases loaded," Carr said. "I went up thinking to hit the ball hard somewhere or to hit a fly ball to put our team in the best position to score."

Dana Vatakis (0-1) took the loss for the Colonials, allowing all four Longwood runs on seven hits in 4.0 innings. Katie Gasvoda pitched the final two innings, yielding just one hit while striking out a pair.

Taryn Miller connected on her first home run of the season in the top of the third inning to lead Robert Morris at the plate.

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