Lynchburg, Va. -- University of Lynchburg's baseball team couldn't hang on in the late going, dropping a 6-4 home decision to Virginia Wesleyan in Old Dominion Athletic Conference play Tuesday.
The Marlins rallied for three runs in the top of the ninth and held off a Hornets threat in the bottom of the inning.
Sophomore second baseman Parker Shaffer (Richmond, Va.) went 3-for-5 with a run scored at the top of the Lynchburg order, and graduate student right fielder Kinston Carson (Tappahannock, Va.) went 2-for-5 with a triple and two RBI.
Sophomore right-hander Grayson Thurman (Lynch Station, Va.) tossed three scoreless innings and struck out seven VWU hitters in relief.
THE RUNDOWN
Final: Virginia Wesleyan 6, Lynchburg 4
Records: Virginia Wesleyan (13-11, 9-5 ODAC), Lynchburg (14-15, 7-7 ODAC)
Venue: James C. Fox Field, University of Lynchburg, Lynchburg, Va.
HOW IT HAPPENED
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Virginia Wesleyan took an early lead thanks to the first of five Hornets errors on the day, which allowed Daniel Petro to single home a run in the second. The Marlins made it a 2-0 lead in the third with a sacrifice fly.
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Lynchburg rallied back for a third-inning run on Carson's RBI single, and senior third baseman Griffin Wild (Severna Park, Md.) tied the game with an RBI double an inning later.
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The Marlins retook the lead in the fifth on a Jacob Pilarski solo homer, but Carson tied the game for the Hornets with an RBI triple that scored Shaffer, who doubled to lead off the inning. Carson scored later in the inning on a sacrifice fly by freshman left fielder Kaden Warren (Berryville, Va.) to take a 4-3 lead.
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Thurman entered in relief with the lead and shut VWU down for three innings, but the Marlins found life in the ninth. The Hornets' fifth error of the ballgame allowed the leadoff man, Petro, aboard. Lynchburg snuffed the potential tying run at home on a safety squeeze for the second out of the inning, but VWU found new life with two outs. A single and a walk loaded the bases before Pilarski walked with the bases loaded to tie the game. Jordan McDonough's two-run single made it a 6-4 Virginia Wesleyan lead.
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The Hornets got two runners aboard in the bottom of the ninth but couldn't bring the tying run across.
LOOKING AHEAD
Lynchburg will get back into ODAC action on Fox Field Saturday, April 13 with a noon doubleheader against the Guilford Quakers.
--LYN--
