Lynchburg, Va. -- PJ Alvanos and Avery Combs played the ninth-inning heroes, leading University of Lynchburg's baseball team to a 9-8 victory over Shenandoah in the winner-take-all Game 3 of the Old Dominion Athletic Conference championship series Saturday afternoon on the Hornets' Fox Field.

Trailing by two runs headed into the bottom of the ninth, Lynchburg's Avery Neaves was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning, and Alvanos promptly tied the game with a two-run home run down the right-field line. Gavin Collins followed the homer with a single, moved to second on Carrson Atkins' sacrifice bunt, and came around to score on a pinch-hit single by Combs.

Grayson Thurman earned the win in relief for Lynchburg, allowing just one earned run and striking out seven over five innings of relief work.

The win earned the Hornets the ODAC's automatic bid into the NCAA Division III tournament and tied the program's record for wins in a season at 34.

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