Lynchburg, Va. -- University of Lynchburg junior Avery Neaves went 3-4 with a home run as the 15th-ranked Hornets beat York (Pa.) on Saturday afternoon. 

Neaves homered in the bottom of the first inning and quickly erased a 2-0 deficit. 

The Spartans tied the game up 3-3 in the third. However, Lynchburg responded in the next half inning once more. Riley O'Donovan and Avery Combs both cashed in with the bases loaded and gave the Hornets a 5-3 lead. 

Nick Mattfield, the starting pitcher, came out for a fourth inning of work. He struck out the final batter he faced to finish his outing with four Ks. Adam Dofflemyer took over on the mound for the sophomore. 

The Hornets tacked on two more runs in the fifth. Ryan Long brought home PJ Alvanos with a sacrifice fly, and Carrson Atkins singled Ethan Smith home. Atkins has 11 hits on the season with eight RBI. 

Neaves cracked his second hit of the game in the sixth inning. He paces the team with 13 hits this season and has five multihit games so far. He tallied another hit in the eighth for his second three-hit game of the year.

Jack Bachmore came on in relief in the top of the sixth with the bases loaded and no outs. He allowed a run but struck out three batters to preserve Lynchburg's lead. He fanned two more in the top of the seventh. With 15 punchouts on the season for Bachmore, he has tallied nine of them in three relief appearances. 

Grayson Thurman came out for the top of the eighth. He faced the go-ahead run with runners on second and third but worked out of trouble with his second K of the inning. In the ninth, Thurman struck out the side and secured Lynchburg's seventh-straight win. He also grabbed his fourth multi-inning save of the season. On average, the senior is getting 7.25 outs per save. 

Lynchburg's seven-game winning streak is its longest since tallying nine Ws in a row from Apr. 21 to May 15, 2021. 

The Hornets (9-1) look to complete their second three-game sweep of the season on Sunday, Mar. 6th at 1 p.m. against York (Pa.).

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--LYN--