First it was Brandon Pond. Then it was Wesley Arrington.
Now it’s Zack Potts.
The University of Lynchburg graduate student pitched the third consecutive complete game for the Hornets in the NCAA Division III baseball national championship Wednesday.
Potts’ gem thrust Lynchburg past Johns Hopkins 5-2 in game 1 of the national championship series. The Hornets and the Blue Jays play game 2 on Thursday, June 8, at noon EST. If the Blue Jays win game 2, game 3 will commence 50 minutes after.
Potts, a Goochland High School product, tossed his third-career complete game and his second of the season. The third-team All-American is 13-0 and leads Division III in victories. He only fanned two batters but limited the Blue Jays to seven hits without a walk.
Lynchburg scored multiple runs in the first inning for the third straight game. The Hornets put two runs up as Eric Hiett belted a double off the base of the left field wall.
Gavin Collins, when he was not busy flashing the leather at third base, drove in a pair of runs with two singles.
The Hornets swiped five bags, and Carrson Atkins stole a pair on his own. He took third base for his second steal of the game. As the Blue Jays catcher attempted to nab Atkins, the throw skipped into left field, and Atkins coasted home for Lynchburg’s fifth score of the day in the top of the eighth.
Cameron Lane pinch hit in the ninth for his first action since April 29. In his plate appearance, Lynchburg’s career-leader in HBP was plunked for the 60th time in his career.
Hopkins scored a pair of runs in the eighth and ninth in a comeback attempt, but Potts stranded the bases loaded to seal the victory. Neither of the runs on Potts’ ledger were earned, and he owns a 2.16 ERA on the season.
On Thursday, tune in to the audio-only broadcast on LHSN. You can pull up the video stream from the NCAA, mute it, and sync up the audio from LHSN’s audio stream for a more Lynchburg-centered perspective.
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