Cedar Rapids, Iowa -- The University of Lynchburg baseball team fell in Game 2 of the national championship series Thursday. 

The Hornets lost 11-6 to Johns Hopkins. Because the Hornets won Game 1 Wednesday, the two teams will play a winner-take-all Game 3 to determine the national champion at 3:50 p.m. EST.

Brandon Pond worked in to and out of trouble with minimal damage in the 1st inning. The Blue Jays scored once with the bases loaded, but Pond struck out two batters to get out of the inning. 

Lynchburg quickly took over the lead in the bottom of the frame with an RBI groundout from Eric Hiett and a passed ball which scored Avery Neaves. 

Brandon Garcia led off the 1st with a double, and in his second at-bat in the 2nd, the rookie shortstop drove in Lynchburg's third run of the day with an RBI single. However, Johns Hopkins took over the game with a run in the 3rd and five runs in the 5th. Matthew Cooper hit Hopkins' first home run of the championship in Iowa and tallied his 25th long ball of the season. The next four runs of the 5th inning were unearned after an error from Avery Neaves in left. Matt Cassidy came on in relief for Pond and pitched 2.2 innings allowing two runs on three hits with three strikeouts. 

The Blue Jays tacked on two more runs in the 8th and two more after that in the 9th. Hopkins' All-American pitcher Gabriel Romano threw a complete game with 164 pitches. 

The Hornets gave Romano a run for his money in the 9th. Garcia, Benton Jones, and Neaves drove in runs in succession with two outs.

Lynchburg and Johns Hopkins battle it out with it all on the line at 3:50 p.m. on Thursday, June 8 from PG Cares Field at Veterans Memorial Stadium. The winner will be the 2023 national champion.

Watch Game 3 here: https://www.ncaa.com/brackets/baseball/d3/2023, and listen to the game on LHSN's YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/live/HYtvprgF4Js?feature=share.

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--LYN--