Longwood University’s softball team begins Big South Conference play Saturday when it hosts a doubleheader against Radford University starting at 2 p.m., and the Lancers have given themselves reason to move forward in confidence this season.

Unlike last year when Longwood emerged from non-conference play with a 7-14 record, the Lancers hold a 12-8 mark this year after playing tournaments in Charleston, South Carolina, Wilmington, North Carolina, and two in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Lancers Head Coach Kathy Riley noted her team has room to grow and there were ups and downs on non-conference play, but it ended quite well.

“I feel like we gave away two or three games,” she said. “The Wilmington tournament, I felt like for sure we should have been 4-1 or 5-0. We just didn’t play as well. But the two tournaments in Hawaii, we played at a really solid level all 10 games, so it makes you feel good when you’re consistently playing well.”

Longwood has won the Big South tournament for the past three years, and it looks to be in contention this year for both the conference regular season and tournament titles.

Giving her take, Riley said, “It’s a four-team race, with Liberty (University) probably being the highest-level opponent for us, and then I believe it’s then Longwood and then Campbell (University) and then Charleston Southern (University) in that order. But as we get to the playoffs, I think still at that point I still think it’s Liberty and Longwood …”

Riley has the big task of shepherding a Lancers pitching staff that is now without Elizabeth “Biz” McCarthy, a multiple Big South Pitcher of the Year honoree who graduated last year.

The coach said she feels good about the state of the pitching staff, which includes junior Sydney Gay, freshman Sydney Backstrom, redshirt senior Sydney Mundell and freshman Arleigh Wood.

“Typically, we’re giving up four or five hits a game, which is not very much, and a lot of times, they’re just not hitting it hard,” Riley said. “Now, there’s room for us to grow as well, though.” Not only have

Gay and Backstrom have been particularly consistent.

On offense, junior Jordan Clark is excelling in the leadoff spot. Riley said junior Kaylynn Batten is probably the team’s most talented hitter. Key contributions also are coming from senior Krista Kelly and redshirt junior Karleigh Donovan, and senior Kelsey Sweeney could also be a difference-maker when she returns from injury, potentially in a few weeks.