Late homers lift Lynchburg to 9-5 win over Battling Bishops

Lynchburg, VA - Lynchburg's Cameron Grant and David Gaines each hit home runs on Friday afternoon as the Hornet baseball team topped North Carolina Wesleyan by a 9-5 score in a non-conference match-up at Fox Field.  Grant’s two-run shot in the sixth inning broke a 4-4 tied and put the Hornets on top for good.  Lynchburg improves to 9-3 on the season, while the Bishops have now dropped two straight and stand at 14-7 overall.

There was plenty of offense early as the Hornets and Bishops found themselves in a 3-3 deadlock after two complete.  NCWC's Justin Batts drove in two runs with a single in the first, while Luke Williford delivered an RBI-double in the second.

Wesleyan took a brief 4-3 lead in the fifth on a Dennis Meshaw RBI, but Lynchburg answered by tying the game on a double and single to lead off the sixth.  Tied at 4-4, Grant then delivered his two-run blast that gave the Hornets a lead that they would not relinquish.  Gaines followed with a solo blast in the seventh.

In all, eight Hornets accounted for 16 hits on the day. Kyle Bradley and Eric O’Brien each went 4-for-4, with Bradley scoring one run and driving in two and O’Brien driving in three.  Conner Thompson pitched 6.2 innings in relief of starter Spencer Garrett, giving up only two runs in collecting the win.

For the Bishops, Williford and Mark Wooten were each 3-for-5 at the plate, while Meshaw and Matt Smith collected two hits apiece as NCWC tallied 13 hits on the day.  Starter Heath Bridgers took the loss after allowing seven runs (six earned) on 14 hits in seven complete.  He struck out five and walked two on the day.

Wesleyan returns to USA South play on Saturday when the Bishops travel to Ferrum College for a 1:00 p.m. contest with the Panthers.

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