University of Lynchburg

Lynchburg, Va. -- The University of Lynchburg baseball team ousted Penn St.-Behrend in the first game of the NCAA DIII Baseball Tournament regional round, 9-1, on Friday afternoon at the Bank of the James Stadium.

After two scoreless innings, the Hornets broke through in the third. Benton Jones worked a leadoff walk, stole both second and third, and scored on a double to left center by Joe Munitz. Sean Pokorak followed with an RBI single through the right side to extend the lead to 2-0.

Penn State Behrend answered with a run in the fourth inning on an RBI double from Adam Cooper, but Lynchburg responded with four runs in the fifth to take control of the game. Jones tripled to right field to begin the inning, and Munitz delivered again with a two-run single up the middle that scored both Jones and Jack Pokorak. Later in the inning, Kyle Flora was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to force in another run, and Kyle Moshier added a sacrifice fly to make it 6-1.

The Hornets added insurance in the eighth inning. Quinn Madden singled and Joe Munitz followed with a bunt single before Madden scored on a wild pitch. Flora then doubled to left field to bring home Munitz, and Moshier added another sacrifice bunt RBI to cap the scoring at 9-1.

Lynchburg finished with nine runs on 11 hits and drew 10 walks. Munitz led the offense with three hits, three RBIs, and three runs scored. Jones added two hits, including a triple, and stole two bases, while Sean Pokorak collected two hits and an RBI. Flora drove in two runs and Madden scored twice.

On the mound, Tyler Kaltreider earned the win with seven strong innings, allowing one run on five hits while striking out seven. Trent Judd and Davis Watson each tossed a scoreless inning in relief as the Hornets secured the opening-round victory.

Next up, the Hornets will face Maryville - who earned a come-from-behind win in 13 innings against Christopher Newport today - on Saturday, May 16 at 2:30 p.m. The winner of tomorrow's afternoon matchup will advance to championship Sunday, while the loser will turn around to play the winner of Penn St.-Behrend vs. CNU at 6 p.m. on Saturday.

Visit Lynchburg athletics' home online, LynchburgSports.com, anytime for up-to-date news on all Hornets sports and coverage from the Lynchburg Hornets Sports Network.

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