Hornet Baseball Rallies for 9-6 Win over Va. Wesleyan

Baseball

Hornet Baseball Ranks Second in NCAA Division III in Fielding Percentage - LC’s Kyle Bradley Earns First-Team All-State Honors - Kyle Bradley Earns Second-Team All-Region Honors - Three Lynchburg Baseball Players on All-ODAC Team - Hampden-Sydney Squeezes past LC Baseball 3-2 - Lynchburg Trounces W&L, 14-2 - Hornet Baseball Rallies for 9-6 Win over Va. Wesleyan - Bridgewater Defeats LC Baseball 2-1 in ODAC Tourney - ODAC Baseball Tournament Pairings Secure - LC Baseball Splits with Methodist - Hornet Baseball Sweeps Roanoke - Marlins Topple LC Baseball - LC Baseball edges Hampden Sydney, 5-4 - Hornet Baseball Splits Twinbill with Eastern Mennonite - Head coach Percy Abell Wins 200th Game at LC - LC Baseball Derails Hampden-Sydney 8-4 - Ferrum Upends LC Baseball 8-1 - Hornet Baseball Defeats Randolph Macon in Twinbill - Hornet Baseball Washed Out - Hornet Baseball Done in by Methodist College and Mother Nature - W&L Sweeps LC Baseball - Hornet Baseball Rallies for 3-2 Win over Ferrum - Tufts’ Powers Past Hornet Baseball 7-3 - LC Baseball Sweeps Doubleheader against Emory & Henry - Hornets Fall to King College, 6-3 - Averett Homers in Ninth to Defeat LC Baseball 7-6 - Hornet Baseball Rallies to Split Doubleheader at Bridgewater - Homers Highlight Hornet Win Over NC Wesleyan - Averett Cools Lynchburg Bats; Wins 2-1 - Seven-Run Ninth Gives LC Baseball a 16-12 Win at Guilford - Hornets Open ODAC Play With Win over Guilford - Hornets Cruise in Twin Bill Against Juniata - LC Baseball Falls at NC Wesleyan 9-3 - Hornets Open Home Season with Two Wins - Hornet Baseball Defeats Greensboro 8-5 in 11 - Hornet Baseball Opens 2007 Season With Split at Greensboro - Marlins Picked to Repeat as ODAC Baseball Champs - Hornets Picked Fifth - Former Hornet Shawn Abell Joins Vassar Baseball Staff

For immediate release – 4/27/2007 - #336
Hornet Baseball Rallies for 9-6 Win over Va. Wesleyan
Will Face W&L Saturday at 3 p.m. in ODAC Tourney

Box Score

LYNCHBURG, VA – The Lynchburg College baseball team rallied from a 6-3 deficit to defeat top-seeded Virginia Wesleyan College 9-6 Friday afternoon on the second day of the 2007 Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) Championship Tournament at Lynchburg’s City Stadium.

Lynchburg found itself down 6-3 going into the top of sixth when the Hornets began their comeback. Matthew Winston reached with a one-out single and came home on Kyle Bradley’s triple that popped out of the glove the Marlins’ diving centerfielder, Keith Petters. Jeff Taylor followed with a grounder to second to score Bradley and pull Lynchburg to within one at 6-5.

The Hornets tied the score in the seventh inning with some sound fundamental baseball. Jon Crews led off with a single back up the middle. He stole second and then moved to third on a grounder to short by Justin Kelly. Pinch hitter Steven Wickline drove him in with a fly ball to medium-deep left-center to tie the score 6-6.

Lynchburg put runs on the board for the third straight inning with three more tallies in the eighth to break the game open. Eric Nguyen, the winner of VWC’s victory on Thursday, relieved starter Dave Whigham to open the inning. Nguyen got Winston to ground out, but Bradley and Taylor followed with singles to put runners on first and third. Bradley came around to score on fielder’s choice by Ronnie LaBrie with Taylor being thrown out at second. Pinch hitter Mark Carlson was hit by a pitch to move LaBrie to second, and Jon Crews followed with an infield single to third to load the bases. Justin Kelly came through with a base-hit the other way to score both LaBrie and Carlson to give Lynchburg a 9-6 lead.

Marlins’ catcher Matt Hudgins had a banner day, going 3-for-4 with five runs batted in. Hudgins drove in one of two first inning VWC runs with a single and followed that with a long solo homerun to right-field in the third, his sixth homer of the season. In the fifth inning, he greeted Lynchburg reliever and eventual game winner, D.W. Moore, rudely with a bases clearing three-run double to left-center.

Crews and Winston had three hits apiece for the Hornets while Bradley, Taylor and Eric O’Brien each collected two knocks. Bradley, Lynchburg’s lead-off hitter, scored three times on the afternoon.

Moore improved to 6-1 on the season with five innings of scoreless relief. He struck out five in that span, surrendering four hits along the way. Nguyen took the loss for VWC and fell to 1-3 overall.

Lynchburg’s victory ensures that five teams will remain in the field to begin Saturday’s contests. The Hornets will match up with #5 Washington & Lee University at 3:00 p.m. in an elimination game. Virginia Wesleyan joins Lynchburg with one win and one loss in the tournament.

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