Virginia Beach, Va. -- University of Lynchburg's softball team continued its hot start to Old Dominion Athletic Conference play Saturday, earning its first regular-season sweep of defending national champion Virginia Wesleyan in nine years.

The Hornets topped the No. 9-ranked Marlins 4-3 in the opener and 3-2 in the nightcap, holding off a pair of late rallies.

Kaleigh Hackett led the Lynchburg offense with three RBI on the day, and Emily Charlton collected a win and a save in the circle.

Lynchburg drew first blood in Game 1 with a second-inning rally kicked off by Sophie Tully's leadoff single. Anna Grace Terrell followed with a bunt base hit to put two on, and Gracie Dooley later drove them both in with an opposite-field double.

The Hornets made it a 4-0 lead in the fifth on back-to-back RBI by Carly Hudnall and Hackett. Virginia Wesleyan responded with a rally of its own in the bottom half, taking advantage of a couple fielding miscues, to cut the lead to 4-3. Dorcsis entered in relief of Charlton and hit the first batter she faced, but the freshman induced an inning-ending groundout after that to keep the Hornets in the lead.

The Marlins got runners aboard in both the sixth and seventh innings, but Dorcsis and the Hornet defense kept the defending national champions off the board in both frames to seal the 4-3 victory. Charlton pitched 4 ⅔ innings without an earned run to earn the win, while Dorcsis' save was the first of her collegiate career.

Virginia Wesleyan opened the scoring in the second inning of Game 2, a two-run double off the bat of Madison Hudson, but Lynchburg got the runs back and more in the top of the third. Ashley Hailey kicked off the rally with a leadoff bunt single, and the senior moved to second on a Hudnall base hit. After a sacrifice bunt, Tully was hit by a pitch to load the bases for Hackett, who delivered a double in the gap that tied the ballgame, 2-2. Two batters later, Terrell drove in the go-ahead run with an infield single.

Angela Sperandeo came on in relief in the bottom of the third and pitched 1 ⅔ scoreless frames before Charlton came on to escape a jam with two out in the fifth. Virginia Wesleyan got runners aboard in the final two innings, putting Marlins on second and third with two out in the seventh before Charlton snagged a sharp liner for the final out of the game. The left-hander struck out three through 3 ⅓ scoreless innings for the save.

It was Lynchburg's first sweep of the Marlins in the regular season since 2013, though the Hornets did take two at TowneBank Park to win the Virginia Beach Regional in the 2019 NCAA Division III tournament.

Lynchburg moved to 14-12 on the season and 5-1 in ODAC play with the sweep. The Hornets will shift back to non-conference play Sunday at home with a pair against Mary Washington. First pitch on Moon Field is scheduled for 1 p.m.

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--LYN--