Winchester, Va. -- The top team in the conference and nationally ranked top-5 program in division III closed out the regular season on the road at Shenandoah, winning one on Saturday and dropping one on Friday.
The No. 4 Hornets (33-6, 18-4) fell 8-2 against SU on Friday, but rebounded with an exciting 11-9 victory on Saturday. Prior to this weekend's competitions, Lynchburg had already locked up the top seed in the conference postseason. The ODAC tournament is set to begin the opening round on Friday, May 2 and go through Sunday, May 4, and each of the top four teams in the conference standings will earn the right to host that weekend.
In Friday's affair, Shenandoah got two runs in the first to take an early lead and never trailed in the contest. Lynchburg got on the board in the third when
Logan Webster delivered a RBI single to right center, scoring
Sean Pokorak and cutting Shenandoah's early lead to 2-1.
Conner Moore later added an RBI single in the seventh, bringing home
Benton Jones to trim the deficit to 6-2.
Shenandoah built their advantage early, scoring twice in the first on a bases-loaded walk and an RBI single by Madagan, who later finished with a two-run homer in the fifth. SU added insurance in the later innings with a solo homer from Cornwell and a sacrifice fly by Houser in the seventh.
Saturday's outing was filled with excitement to start and finish, ultimately concluding with success for Lynchburg. The visiting Hornets built a commanding early lead and held off a late Shenandoah rally to secure an 11-9 win. The Hornets' offense came out firing, posting five runs in the first inning.
Bryce Demory launched a three-run homer to left center to kick off scoring in the competition. Moments later,
Parker Cato added a two-run shot to right, plating
Eric Hiett and pushing the Lynchburg lead to 5-0.
The bats stayed hot in the second inning. Demory doubled home Munitz, Pokorak singled to score Jones, and Hiett capped the frame with an RBI single, making it 8-0. Demory continued his monster day with another RBI double in the third, giving him five RBI through three innings and extending Lynchburg's advantage to 9-0.
Shenandoah chipped away at the deficit, scoring in the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings, highlighted by Pickette's RBI doubles in both the fifth and seventh. By the end of the seventh, SU had cut its deficit to 9-7.
Lynchburg responded in the eighth, as
Joe Gordon singled home Hiett, and Jones followed with an RBI single to bring Gordon across, stretching the lead back to 11-7. Though Shenandoah mounted a late charge in the ninth, scoring two runs and bringing the tying run to the plate, Lynchburg's bullpen closed the door to clinch the victory.
The baseball squad now awaits for the conclusion of the remaining games in the regular season across the ODAC before the postseason field is confirmed. Regardless, Lynchburg will host the first round of the ODAC playoffs next weekend from Friday, May 2 through Sunday, May 4. More information about the ODAC tournament will be announced at a later date and will be published on lynchburgsports.com
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 Athletics a like on
Facebook, and follow Lynchburg Athletics on
Instagram and
X.
--LYN--
