Ferrum, Va. -- University of Lynchburg baseball lost its first game against Ferrum 3-2, but bounced back with a 3-2 win Saturday afternoon. 

The fifth-ranked Hornets got 7.2 innings out of Zack Potts and gave the junior a 1-0 lead after the first inning. Logan Webster and Garrett Jackson singled in the first, and PJ Alvanos was hit by a pitch. With two outs, Gavin Collins forced in the first run of the day by also drawing an HBP. 

Collins has been hit by 10 pitches this season and trails Cameron Lane for the team lead by two. 

The Panthers slashed three-straight hits in the second to tie the game and took the lead on an error. 

Lynchburg was held scoreless until the eighth inning despite four hits from the Hornets. Potts settled in after the second and struck out five batters. He ended the day with six Ks. Ferrum tallied a run in the fifth inning to extend the lead to 3-1. 

Avery Neaves cut the deficit to one with a homer in the eighth. He stung his sixth long ball of the season and is tied for the third-most home runs in the conference. 

The Hornets tried to mount a comeback in the ninth. Carrson Atkins singled but was caught stealing. The Hornets could not capitalize on hits from Josh Gjormand and Webster and dropped their first conference game of the season, 3-2. 

Lynchburg wasted no time in the second game. Alvanos and Riley O'Donovan drove in runs during the first inning as the Hornets looked to avenge their first loss to Ferrum since Mar. 23, 2019. 

Nick Mattfield delivered five innings of one-run baseball with five punchouts.  

O'Donovan cashed in his second RBI of the day in the third with a double. 

Mattfield and Bachmore allowed runs in the fifth and sixth, respectively. However, Grayson Thurman took over in the seventh and made sure Lynchburg's 3-2 lead would suffice. He struck out four batters and only allowed two base runners. He picked off one runner and another was caught stealing as Thurman faced the minimum over three innings. He earned his conference-leading eighth save of the season as well.

The Hornets are the fifth team to reach 20 wins this season across Division-III baseball.

The Hornets (20-5, 9-1 ODAC) host Virginia Wesleyan Wednesday, Apr. 6 at 3:30 p.m.

Visit Lynchburg athletics' home online, LynchburgSports.com, anytime for up-to-the-minute news on all Hornets sports and coverage from the Lynchburg Hornets Sports Network. Click here to sign up for email and text alerts from Lynchburg athletics.

Give Lynchburg Sports a like on Facebook, and follow Lynchburg athletics on Instagram and Twitter.

--LYN--