Lynchburg, Va. -- University of Lynchburg baseball is headed to High Point, N.C. for championship weekend of the Old Dominion Athletic Conference Tournament.
The sixth-ranked and first-seeded Hornets beat Eastern Mennonite 5-1 Monday afternoon behind seven shutout innings from Zack Potts and a save from Grayson Thurman. Potts owns seven wins on the year, and Thurman earned his 12th save of the season.
Serving as the road team despite playing on James C. Fox Field, Lynchburg hopped out to a two-run lead in the top of the second. After singling, Avery Neaves scored on a passed ball, and Josh Gjormand brought home PJ Alvanos with a sacrifice fly. Neaves reached base safely in all five plate appearances on the day.
Eastern Mennonite kept things close and held the Hornets scoreless over the next six innings. The Hornets did put 10 runners on base over that stretch but could not add to the lead until the ninth. Alvanos dropped a single over the infield which was playing in with the bases loaded and scored two. Gjormand cashed in his second run of the day with a single, and Neaves scored his second run of the day.
Thurman fanned three men over two innings to close out the game and kept Lynchburg's dream of repeating as ODAC Champions alive.
Cameron Lane drew two HBP while four Hornets in total were plunked by Royals pitchers. It marks the third time this season with five or more HBP in a game. Lynchburg has been hit by 101 pitches in 2022 and surpassed last season's total by one. Lane also surpassed his HBP mark from a season ago with his team-leading 17th HBP of the year.
The Hornets (34-8) await the schedule of games for championship weekend in High Point, N.C., but they will play on Friday, May 13 at Truist Point.
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--LYN--