ROCK HILL, S.C. – A five-run fourth inning highlighted by a two-run double from Leah Powell along with a two-run triple from Jordan Clark backed a 6.1 innings of three-hit ball from Longwood senior ace Sydney Gay in a 6-4 win over Winthrop Friday night at Terry Field.

The five-run inning broke open a 1-1 ballgame, as the Lancers batted around the lineup. It was part of an offensive display that saw four Lancers finish the game with multiple hits, as Longwood had at least 10 hits for the seventh time this season.

Longwood (13-8, 1-0 Big South) wins its conference opener for the sixth time in seven seasons, moving to 6-1 since joining the Big South in league openers. The win moves Longwood head coach Kathy Riley within one win of collecting No. 700 in her career with the Lancers.

"We did a lot of things well tonight," Riley said. "We hit the ball hard and had some critical at-bats go well for us with people on base in terms. Our kids did a nice job of bearing down and getting those runs in. I'm happy with 10 hits and I thought we played solid defense."

Powell led the offensive charge at the plate, as she added her first home run of the season and was responsible for three of Longwood's six runs to finish with her fifth multi-hit game in a breakout season that has seen her hit .375 in Longwood's first 21 games. The sophomore second baseman has four multi-hit games in her last six games to hit .750 (9-for-12) over that stretch.

"I've definitely been gaining more confidence with this stretch," Powell said. "It helps anyone but especially in moving to second too, I've started to gain confidence both with the bat and defensively."

Clark went 2-for-4 with a pair of RBI with her fourth inning double. Chelsea Whitcomb produced her third consecutive two-hit game while scoring a run and adding an RBI. Kasey Carr finished with a pair of hits in a 2-for-3 day.

Gay (7-4), the Big South Preseason Pitcher of the Year, picked up her seventh win of the season, throwing 6.1 innings and allowing two runs on three hits and five walks. Gay, one of three players in program history to eclipse the 500 strikeout mark, added five punchouts on the day.

"Sydney was pretty solid," Riley said. "In retrospect, I probably could've handled the situation better after the walk in the sixth inning. I should've gone out to see where she was psychologically but it was nice to see her come back in at the end and have the opportunity to finish the job with the pressure that we did have."

With the performance, Gay has given up two or less runs in 14 of her 15 appearances, while accumulating 39 strikeouts. That has her less than 40 strikeouts away from second all-time in career punchouts.

Kiley Majette (3-8) took the loss for the Eagles (10-12, 1-3 Big South), giving up six runs, three earned, on eight hits and two walks. Majette added four strikeouts while throwing 109 pitches, 66 for strikes.

Tori Walker paced Winthrop offensively, hitting her second home run of the season en route to two runs scored in a 1-for-2 performance with a pair of walks.

The two teams are set to play the final two games of the series Saturday, March 16 with the twin bill set to get underway at 2 p.m.

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