Lynchburg, Va. -- The Lynchburg softball team dropped both games in their doubleheader against the Virginia Wesleyan Marlins, falling 5-0 in the first game and 7-6 in 11 innings in the second.
In the opener, No. 5 Virginia Wesleyan played a dominant game, recording nine hits while limiting Lynchburg to just one.
Jessica Strickland tallied the Hornets' lone hit of the contest, while Bri Hodges and Anna Grace Terrell reached base via walks—Hodges twice and Terrell once.
The second game of the day proved to be a much tighter battle.
Sarah Watts got the Lynchburg offense going with a double to right field, driving in Lexi Powell for the Hornets' first run of the day.
Virginia Wesleyan responded in the top of the third inning, reclaiming the lead with two runs—one on a single and another on an error.
Kaleigh Hackett and the Hornets answered in the fifth, as Hackett singled to left field to bring in Carly Hudnall, tying the game at 2-2.
After the Marlins regained the lead in the sixth, Lynchburg came to the plate in the seventh with a chance for late-game heroics. Alex DiNardo got things started with a single down the right side, followed by Powell's clutch single to center, bringing in pinch-runner Adison Walter to force extra innings.
Following a scoreless eighth, both teams plated a run in the ninth and tenth innings. However, Virginia Wesleyan broke through with two runs in the 11th, putting Lynchburg in another tough spot. The Hornets managed to scratch across one run in the bottom half but fell just short, 7-6.
Lynchburg (9-7) resumes ODAC play next Saturday, March 29, with a home doubleheader against the EMU Royals (8-7-1) at Moon Field.
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--LYN--
