BUIES CREEK, N.C. – A heartbreaker for Longwood softball on Sunday afternoon, when game three of the Campbell series came down to one pitch outside of the strike zone.
Two outs, bases loaded, bottom of the 14
th; it was a walk-off walk that ended the game out right in the Camels favor.
"I am proud of their fight, but we cannot settle for the result," said Head Coach Megan Brown. "We have to use it to fuel us to do the extra work to get better and be more prepared for the games we have ahead."
The pitching duel of the year was between
Sydney Backstrom and Georgeanna Barefoot. A remake of the battle in game one ended this time in Barefoot's corner.
Barefoot (12-5) only allowed nine hits on her 54 batters faced, in the 14.0 innings pitched. The red-shirt sophomore out of Raleigh threw 11 strikeouts, and only one walk in the entire game.
It was a hard fought battle for Backstrom (17-11) on the other side.
The super senior hit a new single-game career record with 13.2 innings pitched. That performance moved Backstrom into second overall at Longwood with 785.3 career innings pitched.
Claudia Ware came up big for Campbell (28-15, 15-6 Big South) again on offense playing a part in both runs scored Sunday afternoon.
Ware singled up the middle in the bottom of the sixth pushing the equalizing run across home, tying the game at 1-1.
Longwood's (24-22, 15-6 Big South) only run on the day came in the top of the third as a solo home run shot over the centerfield fence by junior
Lauren Taylor.
In extras, Ware at the plate again, was the Camel dished the final walk to end the game in the home 14
th.
"We have a lot of work to do this week to get ready for the weekend," said Coach Brown. "This was one of those games that was going down the stretch that we just need to find a way to win."
Following this weekend of Big South play, there is a three way tie for second place. The regular season will concluded for all teams in just two weekends.
Longwood looks at Gardner-Webb and Winthrop to close out its season before the Big South Championships come to Farmville on May 11-14.
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