Lynchburg, Va. -- The University of Lynchburg softball team swept Pacific Lurtheran Friday afternoon. The Hornets shut out the Lutes 3-0 in Game 1 and walked it off in Game 2 for a 4-3 win.
Emily Charlton went the distance for the 21st time in her career to kick off the day with a one-hit shutout. Kaleigh Hackett put Lynchburg on the board with an RBI single in the second scoring Sarah Watts. In the sixth inning, Watts secured two RBI of her own with a single to right field. Watts went 3-3 in Game 1.
She continued her hot day at the plate in Game 2 by hitting a line-drive home run the opposite way to tie the game up 1-1 in the second. During her next trip to the plate two innings later, Watts hit a towering home run to left field. Her second solo home run of the day marked her second-career two-homer game. It would have been a two-run shot had Alyssa Talayumptewa not scored on a wild pitch just before Watts' homer.
Kailey Dorcsis, who started Game 2, was lifted for a reliever with one out in the fifth. Dorcsis came back in the game with Lynchburg in trouble in the sixth. The Lutes had already scored twice in the fifth and had runners on first and second. Docsis didn't escape the jam unscathed, but she did limit the damage only allowing the Lutes to tie things at 3-3.
Watts led off Lynchburg's half of the seventh with a double, securing a second straight 3-3 performance. The Hornets got two pinch hits from Bri Hodges and Alex DiNardo to earn the walk-off victory. DiNardo delivered the game-winning hit for the Hornets.
Lynchburg (6-0) is 6-0 for the first time since 2019. Lynchburg won seven consecutive games to open the season five years ago. The Hornets host Greensboro for a double-header on Tuesday, March 12 at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.
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