Lynchburg, Va. -- The 19th-ranked University of Lynchburg softball team cruised to a doubleheader sweep of Eastern Mennonite Monday afternoon in Old Dominion Athletic Conference play.

Lynchburg celebrated its four seniors -- pitcher Taylor Belknap (Arden, N.C.), first baseman Mackenzie Chitwood (Ferrum, Va.), catcher Brittany Coffey (Manassas, Va.) and third baseman Taylor Mabry (Bassett, Va.) -- prior to the ballgames.

The Hornets got four hits, two of them home runs, from Chitwood, and Mabry walked four times and scored thrice on the day.

Junior right-hander Alex Cisar (Sykesville, Md.) earned the save in Game 1 and the win in Game 2 with 7 ⅔ innings without an earned run. She struck out seven Royals.

THE RUNDOWN

Game 1 Final: No. 19 Lynchburg 8, Eastern Mennonite 3

Game 2 Final: No. 19 Lynchburg 7, Eastern Mennonite 2

Records: No. 19 Lynchburg (29-9, 12-6 ODAC), Eastern Mennonite (15-19, 4-14 ODAC)

Venue: Moon Field, University of Lynchburg, Lynchburg, Va.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Game 1

• Chitwood gave the Hornets an early lead with a three-run home run in the bottom of the first, and Lynchburg added on in the second thanks to RBIs from Mabry, Coffey and junior second baseman Sarah Commons (Glen Allen, Va.).

• EMU cut the Lynchburg lead to 6-3 with three runs in the fourth, but the Hornets added on in the fifth with RBI knocks from freshman right fielder Olivia Herman (Westminster, Md.) and junior shortstop Kayla Hugate (Chesterfield, Va.).

• Cisar tossed three scoreless innings for her first save of the year.

Game 2

• Chitwood put Lynchburg on top early in Game 2 with an RBI single, and another run came across on the play after her hit got past the Royals outfield.

• Junior left fielder Carol Oberhelman (Washington Township, N.J.) made it 3-0 Hornets in the second with an RBI double.

• A sacrifice fly brought home a Royals run in the fifth, but Chitwood slugged a two-run home run in the bottom half to open the lead back up. Lynchburg made it 6-1 after another EMU fielding miscue.

• Commons drove in the final Lynchburg run of the day with a sixth-inning sacrifice fly.

LOOKING AHEAD

The Hornets will wrap up the regular season Saturday, April 20 with a conference doubleheader at Emory & Henry beginning at noon. A sweep for the Hornets would make Lynchburg the No. 2 seed entering the ODAC tournament, while a split would leave Lynchburg and E&H tied in the standings.

--LYN--