FAIRFAX, Va. – Longwood softball played a pair of tight games on Sunday to close out the weekend in Fairfax.
 
The first was a true pitcher's duel, with Ohio narrowly edging Longwood 1-0, and the second was another tight one that saw George Mason nip the Lancers (6-16) 4-2.
 
Avery Miller hit her first home run of the season, but offense was otherwise tough to come by for any team on the day as the pitching staffs of all three teams threw well.
 
"Preseason is all about preparation for the Big South," said Longwood Head Coach Dr. Megan Brown. "I'm proud of our team for accepting the challenge of playing against the best, learning, sharpening their skills and continuing to come back for more. We have work to do this week to finish the final preparations before conference."
 
The Lancers open Big South play next weekend on the road at Winthrop. The team plays a doubleheader on Saturday, March 15, beginning at 1 p.m., and the series will be on ESPN+.
 
Game One: Ohio 1, Longwood 0
 
The Longwood pitching duo of Morgan Strickland and Er'ron Burton were good in the opener, but Ohio's Skipp Miller was just a little bit better.
 
Strickland and Burton limited Ohio (15-6) to one run in seven innings, and it came in the first inning on a double steal. Strickland went the first two and gave up only three hits, and Burton tossed four scoreless to close out it out while working around three hits with three strikeouts.
 
But Miller only gave up one baserunner on the day, a walk, for the wire-to-wire win. For Miller (7-2), it was her seventh win on the season.
 
Strickland (0-3), meanwhile, took the tough-luck loss for the Lancers.
 
Game Two: George Mason 4, Longwood 2
 
Much like the first game of the day, the second game was nip and tuck throughout as pitchers from both sides gave up a combined seven hits in the game.
 
George Mason (6-15) jumped out to a 2-0 lead with a home run by Logan Pickford, but Longwood answered in the top of the second with a two-run blast from Miller.
 
However, the Patriots snuck in a run in both the second and third innings that proved to be the difference.
 
Harlowe Night (2-3) earned the win in the circle for the Patriots with four innings of work, allowing just two runs on two his and a walk against two strikeouts. Abby Lane picked up the save with three shutout innings to close it out.
 
Maggie Chapin (3-8) took the loss for Longwood, giving up four runs, only three earned, on four hits and three walks in 2.1 innings. Cierra Gawryluk came on in relief and pitched well, posting 3.2 scoreless frames with three strikeouts against one hit and one walk.
 
#GoWood #HorsePower