TYSONS, Va. --- It took one game longer than they intended but the Hornets wrapped up their third straight ODAC baseball title on Saturday with top-seeded University of Lynchburg defeating second-seeded Randolph-Macon College, 7-3, in a winner-take-all final on Saturday at Capital One Park in Tysons.
Lynchburg (38-7) earns the ODAC's automatic entry to the NCAA Division III Baseball Championship bracket, increasing their league trophies to 12 overall. Randolph-Macon (30-15) will await all final results to see if it will earn one of 23 at-large selections to the field of 64 teams. The bracket will be released on Monday on NCAA.com.
Randolph-Macon forced the seventh game of the championship series with a 6-5 win over Lynchburg in Saturday's first contest. The Yellow Jackets did not lead in that contest until the ninth inning. Left-fielder Anthony Pinto, who plated the tying run in the seventh inning, brought around RMC's sixth run with a sacrifice fly in the top of the ninth for a 6-5 lead.
Sam Slevin closed the door with his third save in Tysons, forcing the deciding game.
Lynchburg got on the board first in the bottom of the opening frame. Right-fielder Rider Warren walked with the bases loaded to bring in shortstop Brandon Garcia.
Randolph-Macon tied the score in the third inning on right-fielder Jack Bowles' double to right-center to drive in catcher Logan Duff. Lynchburg immediately regained the lead in the bottom of the frame on catcher Sean Pokorak's no-doubt-about-it solo blast to left-center.
Duff was again in on the scoring as Randolph-Macon leveled the score again in the fourth. His grounder deep to third saw second baseman Zach Wernoski erased at third, but the fielder's choice allowed Pinto score the tying run.
Pinto gave RMC the lead in fifth with a sacrifice fly to bring around Bowles for a 3-2 Yellow Jackets advantage.
All remaining runs came on Lynchburg's side of the ledger, beginning with a pair in the sixth inning. Second baseman Benton Jones singled to short to bring in Garcia to knot the score, 3-3. Designated hitter Bryce Demory doubled in Jones for a 4-3 edge.
Tournament MOP Logan Webster hammered his second homer of the day in the seventh inning, clearing the centerfield fence for a 5-3 lead. Centerfielder Joe Munitz tacked on two insurance runs later in the frame with a two-run blast to right.
ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
- Tyler Kaltreider (P), LYN
- Peter Phillips (P), RMC
- Sam Slevin (P), RMC
- Sean Pokorak (C), LYN
- Brody Pickette (C), SU
- Brandon Garcia (IF), LYN
- Eric Hiett (IF), LYN
- Benton Jones (IF), LYN
- Chaz Harvey (IF), RMC
- Joe Munitz (OF), LYN
- Jack Bowles (OF), RMC
- Anthony Pinto (OF), RMC
- Jon Quici (OF), RMC
- Bryce Demory (DH), LYN
- Logan Webster (MOP - OF), LYN