Lynchburg, Va. -- University of Lynchburg baseball took two from Roanoke on Sunday afternoon to open conference play.
The No. 7-ranked Hornets used an extra hour of sunlight from Daylight Saving to score 13 runs across two games, winning 7-3 and 6-2.
Zack Potts started the first game on the bump and delivered 5.2 innings of three-run baseball. He also fanned six batters.
The Hornets struck first in the third inning beginning with a double from Logan Webster. The freshman, making his first-career start, came around to score on a sacrifice fly from Avery Neaves. PJ Alvanos tacked on another run with a single to left. Alvanos and Neaves are tied for the team lead with 15 RBI.
Roanoke got to Potts for two runs in the sixth making way for an early entrance from Grayon Thurman.
The reigning conference pitcher of the week turned his longest outing of the season into his sixth save. Thurman went 3.1 innings with two hits, bringing his season ERA down to 1.31.
Neaves, Collins, and Webster drove in three runs across the seventh and eighth, giving the Hornets enough insurance to take Game 1 by a score of 7-3.
Lynchburg's first three batters in the lineup, Cam Lane, Webster, and Jackson, all recorded two hits.
Nick Mattfield came out dealing in Game 2. He retired the first nine batters he faced and tallied five strikeouts. Throughout his five innings of work, Mattfield consistently pounded the strikezone getting ahead of most batters 0-1.
After working out of a one-out jam in the fourth, Lynchburg broke the game wide open for the sophomore on the hill.
PJ Alvanos got on with a walk, and Gavin Collins singled. Riley O'Donovan ignited the scoring with an RBI single.
Ryan Long drove O'Donovan and Collins home with a deep drive to left field. He smacked his second-career homer to put Lynchburg up 4-0.
Carrson Atkins kept the inning rolling with a double and later scored on a wild pitch.
Travis Shumate relieved Mattfield in the sixth. Shumate retired six of his seven batters and made way for Jack Bachmore in the eighth.
Bachmore closed the final two innings with three strikeouts, and the Hornets won 6-2.
Mattfield earned his second-career win while his battery mate O'Donovan collected his third multihit game.
Lynchburg swept the Maroons for the first time since Mar. 31, 2012.
The Hornets (12-2, 2-0) take on Greensboro at Truist Stadium in Winston-Salem, N.C. at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Mar. 15.
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--LYN--