Lynchburg, Va. -- Cameron Lane drilled a two-run home run to right field and 10 Hornet pitchers combined for nine strikeouts as University of Lynchburg baseball downed Greensboro College 9-6 Thursday afternoon in the Hornets' 2020 home opener. 

The Hornets (4-3) struck first in a game for the fourth time already this season as a Greensboro error, a single from junior Parker Shaffer and then a Shaffer stolen base allowed freshman Josh Gjormand to steal home. The next inning, the sophomore, Lane, hit a two-run home run over the right field fence to extend the Lynchburg lead to 3-0.

In the bottom half of the fifth inning, the Hornets tacked on five more runs on five hits including an RBI double from senior Shawn Allen and RBI singles from sophomore Holden Fiedler and Gjormand, increasing the Lynchburg advantage to 8-0. 

In the top of the fifth, The Pride (5-4) got into the hit column for the first time on the day and then in the seventh, scored its first run on an RBI single from Devin Summers. In the eighth, Greensboro cut the Hornet lead down to six as it scored twice more on three hits. 

In the top of the ninth, Greensboro began to mount a small comeback, scoring three runs on only one hit as Hornet pitching struggled to throw strikes early in the inning. Junior Grayson Thurman came out of the bullpen in relief of sophomore Garrett Jackson and was able to shut down The Pride comeback, sealing Lynchburg's 9-6 win. 

Eight out of nine hitters in Lynchburg's starting lineup recorded at least one base hit on the afternoon as Shaffer and Gjormand led the way with two each. Gjormand and Lane led the day with two and three RBIs, respectively while Lynchburg pitchers held The Pride hitless into the fifth inning and struck out nine. 

University of Lynchburg baseball will be back in action on Saturday, Feb. 29 as the Hornets start a three-game home set against the York College Spartans with a double-header beginning at 11 a.m.

--LYN--