Fresh off winning the ACC Regular Season Title in Boston this weekend, the Hokies host the Longwood Lancers for a doubleheader Tuesday. First game is at 4:00 with the second game starting about 30 minutes after it’s conclusion. The games will be streamed on ACC Network Extra (thank goodness).

Longwood is coached by Kathy Riley, who is in her 22nd season with the Lancers and has put them on the softball map. Earlier this season, she notched her 700th win at Longwood, and IF my calculations are correct, she currently stands at 799 career wins when counting her time at Mount Olive.

Longwood comes to Blacksburg as the Big South Regular Season Champions - the 3rd time in the last 5 years that they've accomplished that feat. The Lancers have a 34-16 record this season, 20-4 in the Big South, and on a 4 game winning streak. They have played 4 games against Top 14 RPI Teams, all run-rule losses – Texas (1-9, 0-8) and JMU (2-10, 1-14). Against ACC Teams, they have a win over Virginia (11-6) and two losses to Duke (3-6, 1-4).

The Lancers hit .279 as a team, led by former Hokie Chelsea Whitcomb with a .333 average and 30 stolen bases in 34 attempts. Whitcomb was a big-time signee for the Hokies, but several injuries derailed a promising career and she transferred to Longwood last summer after getting her VT degree.

In the circle, the Lancers are led by Senior Sydney Gay (11-8, 2.82 ERA) and Sophomore Sydney Backstrom (17-8, 3.10 ERA). Backstrom was named the Big South Pitcher of the Week today after going 4-0 last week with a 0.61 ERA and her first career no hitter.

Meanwhile, the Hokies continue their excellent year and currently rank 6th nationally in batting average (.342), 4th in HRs per game (1.69), 8th in scoring (7.18), and are tied for 1st in shutouts with 21.

The Tale of the Tape and Individual Player Stats are listed below.

Let’s Go Hokies.