Lynchburg, Va. -- There's no place like home, especially in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference tournament.
The Lynchburg baseball team, men's lacrosse team, and softball team begin their postseason tournaments in the Hill City beginning Thursday.
The top-seeded and 11th-ranked men's lacrosse team hosts Roanoke in the semifinals Thursday, May 4 at 7 p.m.
The fifth-seeded softball team will play in Lynchburg but not as the host. Top-seeded Roanoke is hosting a four-team pod on Liberty University's campus at Kamphuis Field. The Hornets play fourth-seeded Guilford at 4 p.m. Friday, May 5.
The top-seeded and fourth-ranked baseball team starts ODAC play in the first round against Bridgewater on Fox Field. Game 1 is scheduled for 2 p.m. on Saturday, May 6.
The men's lacrosse team earned hosting honors after its co-regular season title with Hampden-Sydney. The Hornets went 8-1 in conference play and are led by senior Riley Mitchell and freshman Riley Hastings on offense. Hastings paces the team with 51 points and leads in assists, and Mitchell is second on the team with 48 points. Jake Rust serves at the leading goal-scorer with 32. Lynchburg's senior goalie Tyler Hadley leads the ODAC in save percentage at 59%.
Roanoke visits Shellenberger Field for the second time in 2023 as the No. 5 seed after a 6-3 conference mark and defeating fourth-seeded Randolph-Macon in the conference quarters.
Links for men's lacrosse vs Roanoke on Thursday, May 4 at 7 p.m.: Live stream | Live stats | Tickets
The Lynchburg softball team played to an 11-9 conference record and will play as the fifth seed in Roanoke's pod hosted at Liberty. Roanoke's typical home field and perennial home of the ODAC softball championship, the James I. Moyer Sports Complex in Salem, Va., is undergoing renovations. The Maroons had been playing home games at Lord Botetourt High School, but that field was unavailable as well. Therefore, the Hornets play close to home as they take on Guilford in their first game of the double-elimination pod.
Senior Gracie Dooley leads Lynchburg into the tournament with a .393 batting average and the second-best on-base percentage in the league at .509. Pitchers Kailey Dorcsis, Angela Sperandeo, and Emily Charlton are all in the top-15 in the league for ERA.
As the fourth seed, Guilford split with Lynchburg on Moon Field in the regular season and owns an identical ODAC record as the Hornets at 11-9. Guilford's sweep of Roanoke in the regular season gave the Quakers the tiebreaker over Lynchburg.
The third and final Lynchburg squad playing in the Hill City to begin postseason play is the regular season champion and fourth-ranked baseball team.
After securing the No. 1 seed in the postseason bracket, the Hornets also were bestowed their highest ranking in the d3baseball.com national poll in program history at No. 4.
With a 33-5 overall record and a perfect 20-0 mark at home, the Hornets look to get back to the top of the ODAC landscape after winning the trophy in 2021.
Led by two-time All-American Avery Neaves at the dish and the program leader in wins on the mound Zack Potts, the Hornets host Bridgewater for a three-game set beginning Saturday, May 6. Game 1 is slated for 2 p.m. Game 2 Sunday will begin at noon with Game 3 (the "if" game) to commence approximately 30 minutes after Game 2.
Links for baseball vs Bridgewater (Game 1) on Saturday, May 6 at 2 p.m.: Live stream | Live stats
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--LYN--
