Forest, Va. -- The University of Lynchburg baseball team, the defending national champions, start the 2024 season ranked second in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference preseason coaches poll announced Wednesday.
The Hornets charted unfamiliar territory, not just for the program, but for the entire conference in 2023 when they became the first ODAC school to make it to the final series of the NCAA 2023 Division III baseball championship. Lynchburg defeated Johns Hopkins in an epic, three-game series defined by complete-game pitching performances, timely hits, clutch defensive plays, and punctuated with a five-out save from Wesley Arrington.
Arrington is one of seven pitchers that threw significant innings last season to return to the bump in 2024. Most notably, Jack Bachmore, the DIII leader in saves from a season ago, returns for a fifth year to follow up his All-American season.
Lynchburg's other All-American pitcher, Zack Potts, moved on to William & Mary to continue his baseball career at the DI level. Brandon Pond and Avery Neaves also are playing elsewhere in Division I this season.
Gavin Collins will suit up for career-game No. 145 to begin the season in the heart of the Hornets lineup. Two former freshmen up the middle, Brandon Garcia and Benton Jones, can also be found down at Fox Field in the lineup and turning double-plays for the new head coach Travis Beazley.
Beazley took over for Lucas Jones as the head coach after serving as the associate head coach for seven years. Jones will still be coaching alongside Beazley as the two have swapped roles.
RELATED: Lynchburg baseball announces staffing changes
Lynchburg won its 10th ODAC title in 2023 defeating Shenandoah in a memorable, eight-run comeback in Richmond, Va. The Hornets also beat Shenandoah in the NCAA super regional to punch their ticket to the national championship. Shenandoah received nine first-place to Lynchburg's three in the 2024 preseason ballot. Check out the full ODAC press release on the preseason rankings here.
|
1. Shenandoah University (9)
|
119 pts.
|
|
2. University of Lynchburg (3)
|
110 pts.
|
|
3. Randolph-Macon College
|
103 pts.
|
|
4. Roanoke College
|
82 pts.
|
|
5. Washington and Lee University
|
81 pts.
|
|
6. Hampden-Sydney College
|
71 pts.
|
|
7. Bridgewater College
|
68 pts.
|
|
8. Guilford College
|
51 pts.
|
|
9. Ferrum College
|
34 pts.
|
|
10. Virginia Wesleyan University
|
31 pts.
|
|
11. Eastern Mennonite University
|
25 pts.
|
|
12. Averett University
|
17 pts.
|
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.
Sign up here to receive Lynchburg Sports news in your email inbox.
Give Lynchburg Sports a like on Facebook, and follow Lynchburg athletics on Instagram, Threads, and X.
--LYN--
