Lynchburg, Va. -- Lynchburg College's baseball team opened the home portion of its 2018 slate with a doubleheader sweep of Mount Saint Vincent on a balmy Saturday afternoon at Heritage High School.

The Hornets took the opener, 9-2, before routing the Dolphins 18-1 in the nightcap.

The middle of the Lynchburg order brought the thunder in the Hornets' Hill City debut as senior right fielder Will Harris (Halifax, Va.) went 6-for-9 with with four RBI, senior first baseman Matt Ward (Newton, N.C.) clubbed a homer, scored four runs, and drove in three, and senior center fielder Brad Hylton (Danville, Va.) went 3-for-6 with five RBI and a home run. Senior catcher Matthew Cotton (Charlotte, N.C.) also homered for the Hornets.

Starting pitching looked strong for Lynchburg as well, as junior Matt Kane (Fernandina Beach, Fla.) and freshman Jason Wood (Gloucester, Va.) each turned in scoreless outings.

THE RUNDOWN

Game 1 Final: Lynchburg 9, Mt. St. Vincent 2

Game 2 Final: Lynchburg 18, Mt. St. Vincent 1

Records: Lynchburg 3-1, Mt. St. Vincent 0-2

Venue: Heritage High School, Lynchburg, Va.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Game 1

• Both teams' bats were slow to start, but the Hornets capitalized on some CMSV miscues to take the lead in the bottom of the third. A Dolphin balk brought home freshman second baseman Parker Shaffer (Richmond, Va.) for the game's opening run, and Harris doubled home sophomore left fielder Shawn Allen (Columbus, N.J.) for another run in the third.

• Cotton's fourth-inning, opposite-field homer added another Hornets run, and Ward hit a two-run shot to left-center the next inning to break the game open. LC added more insruance in the sixth, seventh, and eighth innings.

• Kane dazzled through four innings, striking out four to earn his second win of 2018, and senior reliever David Goulding (Lynchburg, Va.) pitched the final five innings, scattering two hits and striking out four for his second save of the season.

Game 2

• Lynchburg wasted no time taking control of the back end of the double-dip, tattooing CMSV pitching for six first-inning runs. Harris knocked an RBI single, and Hylton brought home two more with a bases-loaded knock to make it 3-0 before the Dolphins were able to record an out.

• Hylton added to the rout with a two-run homer off the right-field foul pole in the fourth, and the senior tacked on another with an RBI double in the following inning.

• Freshman third baseman Kolby Puryear (Danville, Va.) brought home the Hornets' final two runs with a bases-loaded double down the right-field line for his first collegiate hit and RBI.

• Wood struck out seven over 4 ⅓ innings, scattering three hits to earn his first collegiate win on the mound.

LOOKING AHEAD

Lynchburg will turn around for another double-dip on Sunday, Feb. 25, this time playing host to Penn State Harrisburg. The games will again be played on the turf field at Heritage High after wet weather earlier in the week rendered Fox Field unplayable.

--LC--