Elizabeth McCarthy

Classroom

Elizabeth McCarthy is majoring in kinesiology with a concentration in exercise science and sports a 3.10 GPA in her major.

Character

McCarthy has served in a number of leadership positions throughout her time at Longwood on and off the softball field. On the field, she served as a mentor for Longwood’s pitching staff that ranked in the top 25 in the NCAA in team ERA. She took fellow pitcher Sydney Gay under her wing and mentored her to help the two become one of the best one-two tandems in the nation.

McCarthy also served for two years on Longwood’s Student Athletic Advisory Committee as the vice president. In that role, McCarthy aided in the organization and conduction of meetings, planned and oversaw community service projects and collaborated with the president and other members about any problems arising in athletics. In this position, she also attended multiple Big South Conference meetings and participated in media days for the conference.

McCarthy also has served a role on the Lancer Leadership committee, attending monthly meetings that consisted of presentations, interactive workshops, speeches and interactive activities. She collaborated with other athletes in the department regarding how to become a better leader.

Community

In her three-plus seasons at Longwood, McCarthy has been involved in the community. She has helped promote Longwood’s softball team through various channels such as working youth summer camps and providing pitching lessons for girls interested in the sport of softball.

Outside softball, McCarthy has been involved with various organizations such as Project Life, Operation Christmas Child and Relay for Life. During her time on the Student Athlete Advisory Committee, McCarthy also organized Longwood’s efforts for Clothes/Coats/Shoes for Homeless Veterans.

Competition

McCarthy was honored as the 2017 Big South Preseason Pitcher of the Year, and in 2015 and 2016 she was the Big South Pitcher of the Year. McCarthy is the fifth pitcher in Big South history to capture back-to-back Big South Pitcher of the Year accolades. She also was named second-team NFCA All-Southeast Region in 2015 and in 2016 earned third-team NFCA All-Southeast Region honors. McCarthy owns 61 wins in two seasons and sits tied for fourth on Longwood’s career wins list heading into her senior campaign.

McCarthy sits second on Longwood’s career strikeout list with 528 in her first three seasons and owns a career ERA of 2.63 over 117 appearances including 94 starts and 584.1 innings pitched. She has held opponents to a .235 batting average and is one of two pitchers in program history to eclipse 500 strikeout mark for career. McCarthy enters 2017 season 50 strikeouts shy of the Big South’s top-10 all-time career leaders in K’s.