For immediate release – 2/26/2016 - #317
LC Baseball Opens Play at Methodist Diamond Invitational

FAYETTEVILLE, NC – The Lynchburg College baseball team dropped a pair of games Friday at the Methodist University Diamond Invitational. Five teams are slated to play 10 games this weekend at the Invitational, with LC participating in four.

The Hornets opened play in the morning against Neumann University, dropping a 9-3 contest to the Knights. Neumann scored five runs in the second inning to take an early lead. LC scored single runs in the fourth and the sixth innings on a groundout and a sacrifice fly to cut the lead to 5-2, but NC scored four runs in the final three innings to pull away.

Will Harris had two hits and an RBI for Lynchburg and Drew Taylor tripled and scored. Joe Tomasulo stroked a double and also scored.

Cody MacNair went 3-4 for Neumann (1-0) with two runs scored.

The Hornets also competed in the last game of the day, which didn't get underway until 7:50 p.m. Marietta College (OH), the 24th-ranked team in NCAA Division III in D3baseball.com's pre-season poll, defeated LC 15-6.

The Pioneers went ahead 7-1 after three innings, but the Hornet bats came alive for five runs in the bottom of the fourth. Jonathan Munn doubled to lead off the frame and scored on a triple from Harris. Following a pair of walks to load the bases, Taylor singled to send one runner home. A sacrifice fly scored the third run of the inning and Tomasulo singled to bring home two more Hornets and cut the lead to 7-6. The Pioneers scored four runs in the top of the fifth inning and would send four more runners home before the contest was over.

Taylor and Tomasulo each had two hits for Lynchburg (3-5). David Stover threw 3 1/3 innings of scoreless relief for Marietta to earn the win and Michael Barnabei went 4-4 with two runs and two RBI.

The schedule gets no easier for the Hornets Saturday, with LC meeting the #1 squad in Division III, Cortland State University (NY), at 7 p.m. in the Diamond Invitational.

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