Greensboro, N.C. -- The University of Lynchburg baseball team split its two games at the D3 Showcase Saturday beating Marietta 5-4 on a walk-off single from Eddie Gimbel in the 10th inning and falling to Cortland 5-4 in 10 innings on a wild pitch.
Domenic Rowlands earned his first career win against No. 8 Marietta in the first game of the day. Nick Mattfield started the game, went four innings, and allowed two runs.
Trailing by one in the ninth, Austin Riney took a pinch-hit at-bat to lead off the frame. He singled, and the eventual hero of the game, Gimbel, pinch ran for him. Gimbel came around to score and tie the game up on a sacrifice fly from Brandon Garcia. Rowlands pitched out of a one-out, bases-loaded jam in the top of the 10th inning to keep Lynchburg in line for the win.
Ryan Long walked to lead off the 10th, and when he was in scoring position at third four batters later, Gimbel drove him home with a walk-off single to left field.
No. 10 Cortland jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning of Lynchburg's second game of the day, and the Red Dragons doubled their lead by the sixth. Gavin Collins drove home Benton Jones in the seventh, then a bases-loaded walk and a two-run error in right helped Lynchburg tie the game at 4-4 in the top of the eighth.
Logan Tapman, who had been working for three innings prior, worked a scoreless bottom of the eighth setting up O'Kelly McWilliams IV's Lynchburg debut on the mound for the ninth and 10. After Lynchburg couldn't score in its first trip to the plate in extras, the Red Dragons walked it off with only one hit thanks to a passed ball, an intentional walk, and two stolen bases. A bases-loaded wild pitch was the nail in the coffin for the Hornets.
Lynchburg (4-2) won 67% of its games to open a highly competitive opening set of games against five ranked opponents to start the year. The No. 6 Hornets kick off their home schedule on Wednesday, Feb. 28 against Pfeiffer.
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--LYN--
