Lynchburg, Va. -- University of Lynchburg baseball solidified its spot in the 2021 Old Dominion Athletic Conference tournament semifinals with its doubleheader sweep of Washington and Lee University Saturday afternoon by final scores of 12-8 in Game 1 and 12-5 in Game 2. 

On Saturday, May 15, Lynchburg returns to the ODAC tournament semifinals for the first time since 2012, the last time the Hornets raised the championship trophy. 

In Game 1, the Hornets (30-11) fell behind in the top of the first after the Generals scored an unearned run on a wild pitch. Lynchburg responded quickly in the bottom half as two wild pitches from W&L brought Cameron Lane and Garrett Jackson in to score after the first three Hornets reached base. PJ Alvanos then singled home Avery Neaves to put Lynchburg up 3-1. 

The Generals (10-15) scored single runs in the second and third innings, but Lynchburg responded with single runs of its own in the third, fourth and fifth to take a 6-4 lead. In the top of the sixth, after a Hornet miscue, W&L tied the game at 6-6 with back-to-back base hits. In the bottom half, the Hornets took the lead for good as Holden Fielder led off the inning with a single and later came around on a wild pitch. Neaves drew a bases loaded walk and then Avery Combs hit a sacrifice fly to center to plate Jackson to give Lynchburg a 9-6 edge. 

After W&L plated a run in the top half of the seventh, Lynchburg put up its third three-run inning of the contest, highlighted by a two-run double from Alvanos ultimately sealing the 12-8 Game 1 victory. 

Lynchburg starter Kinston Carson earned a no-decision for the Hornets as the graduate student went four innings and allowed four runs, two earned, on seven hits and struck out four. Sophomore Jack Bachmore came on in relief and allowed four runs, only two earned, on six hits and punched out six in five innings to earn his fifth win of the year. The Generals' Matt Whitely was handed the loss for W&L. 

In Game 2, Lynchburg found itself as the away team but that did not stop the Hornets from taking another early lead. With two outs in the first, after Lane led off the game with a walk, Neaves doubled down the left field line to plate Lane and put Lynchburg up 1-0. 

In the third, Lynchburg plated six runs to take a 7-0 lead.  Alvanos drove in two with a two-run single and then later scored on an RBI-single off the bat of Chris Martin. Ryan Long joined the hit parade as the freshman singled home Parker Shaffer and then Lane doubled home Martin for the Hornets' seventh run. 

After Lynchburg plated two more in the top of the fifth, the Generals got on the board in the bottom half. In the seventh, with Lynchburg leading 10-1, W&L scored four runs on two hits as the Hornets used four pitchers in the inning, but sophomore Zack Potts recorded the final out of the inning to limit the damage. In the eighth, Neaves and Alvanos each singled home a run, giving Lynchburg added insurance and sealing the 12-5 win. 

Hornets starter Brandon Pond earned his seventh victory of the year as the junior went six innings and allowed just one run on seven hits and punched out nine. Potts threw the final 2 ⅓ innings as the sophomore allowed just one hit and struck out three. Thomas Haller took the loss for W&L. 

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--LYN--