For immediate release – 4/26/2014 - #344
Season Ends for Lynchburg Baseball with 18-10 Loss in ODAC Tourney
LYNCHBURG, VA – The season ended for the Lynchburg College baseball team Saturday with an 18-10 loss to No. 2 seeded Randolph-Macon College on day three of the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) baseball tournament.
Martin Henderlite got the start for the Hornets in his first appearance since returning from an injury suffered on March 31. The junior surrendered a leadoff walk, before pounding the strike zone the rest of his appearance. Randolph-Macon took advantage of all the strikes, plating five runs in the opening frame.
The Yellow Jackets added another run in the second as Travis Lodge singled in Stuart Brown from third base and seemed poised to coast into the final game of the evening against No. 3 seeded Bridgewater College.
Lynchburg proved in the fourth inning why they were a team ranked in the top 10 nationally in runs and batting average.
Lincoln Evans worked the count full before leading off the inning with a walk. Joe Rogers then doubled off the wall, just below the foul pole in right to chase Evans to third.
The Hornets then made the Yellow Jackets pay for a pair of errors by the shortstop as Rob Tomasulo and Dustin Arrowood both reached via the miscues, scoring Evans and Rogers in the process.
Wil Parsons, Pat Harris and Jake Tanner followed with an RBI single each to cut the deficit to one run, 6-5, forcing Randolph-Macon to go to the bullpen.
With Harris on second base and Tanner on first, Joe Tomasulo tried to bunt the duo over but popped it up in the air. Tim Benjamin charged in, diving to attempt a catch, but the ball fell just past his outstretched glove to load the bases.
Drew Taylor fouled out to deep right to score Harris and tie the game as the Hornets batted around in the frame. Eight hitters reached base for Lynchburg before Macon retired Taylor for the first out.
Lynchburg took the lead on an RBI groundout by Evans and RBI single by Rogers while plating a total of eight runs in the fourth as 11 Hornets came to the plate.
Randolph-Macon responded with three runs in the bottom half of the frame, capped off by a two-run double by Mitchell Keeler, to take back a 9-8 lead.
Lynchburg rallied once more in the top of the fifth to tie the game as Tanner singled over the shortstop's head to plate Parsons.
That would be the closest the Hornets would get as Randolph-Macon exploded for seven runs in the bottom of the inning to jump ahead 16-9. Nicholas Maiolo had a two-RBI double and Keeler added a two-run homer over the left field wall to lead the charge.
Benjamin, Keeler and Stuart Brown had three hits each for Randolph-Macon (24-14) while Benjamin and Keeler had five and four RBI, respectively.
Rogers and Parsons had three base knocks apiece for Lynchburg while the latter scored two runs and drove in two more.
Lynchburg (24-13) ends its season ranked 14th in the nation in batting average (.334), 9th in runs scored (317), 6th in runs per game (8.57) and 16th in hits (450).