Cary, N.C. -- The Lynchburg College softball team remained unbeaten on the young season with a pair of close victories on the first day of the Grand Slam Triangle Classic.

Lynchburg opened the day with a 7-5 triumph over Maryville and turned the tables on Averett in the top of the seventh inning for a 6-5 win over Averett.

Freshman left fielder Jordyne Vance (Lynchburg, Va.) had a big day in her first two collegiate starts, going 6-for-7 with a home run and two runs scored on the day.

Senior center fielder Skylar Dickens (Virginia Beach, Va.) also had four hits over the two games, while sophomore infielder Sarah Commons (Glen Allen, Va.) delivered the walk-off hit in the nightcap.

THE RUNDOWN

Game 1 Final: Lynchburg 7, Maryville 5

Game 2 Final: Lynchburg 6, Averett 5

Records: Lynchburg 4-0, Maryville 5-4, Averett 1-6

Venue: Thomas Brooks Park, Cary, N.C.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Game 1

• Lynchburg took a 1-0 lead in the third inning when Dickens led off with a single and scored on a sacrifice fly by Commons.

• The Hornets broke the game open with a five-run fifth on a rally that began with a leadoff walk to junior third baseman Taylor Mabry (Bassett, Va.) and finished with a pair of two-out, RBI hits Vance and Dickens.

• Vance added to the lead with a leadoff homer in the seventh to make it 7-1 Hornets.

• Maryville rallied for four runs in the bottom of the frame, but senior right-hander Conner English (Altavista, Va.) preserved the lead, getting the final two outs of the game.

Game 2

• Averett jumped on LC pitching early to the tune of two first-inning runs, but the Hornets erased the deficit in the bottom half thanks to Commons' RBI groundout and an RBI single by sophomore shortstop Kayla Hugate (Chesterfield, Va.).

• The Cougars retook the lead in the third, but Lynchburg tied up again in the fourth thanks to an Averett error. Another Cougar miscue the following inning allowed junior first baseman Mackenzie Chitwood (Ferrum, Va.) to score, giving Lynchburg a 4-3 lead after five.

• Averett scored twice in the sixth to take a one-run lead, but freshman hurler Kayley Cox (Yorktown, Va.) pitched out of a jam to avoid further damage and struck out the side in order in the seventh to keep LC within reach.

  Lynchburg rallied in the last frame as senior second baseman Leslie Bourgeois (Bealeton, Va.) and Commons delivered back-to-back doubles to make the Hornets walk-off winners.

LOOKING AHEAD

The Hornets will look to continue their season-opening win streak Sunday on Day 2 of the tournament. LC will play at North Carolina Wesleyan College in Rocky Mount, N.C., on the second day, first against Wilson at 10 a.m. and against the host Battlin' Bishops at 2 p.m.

--LC--