ROANOKE, Va. – Old Dominion Athletic Conference champions were crowned on Saturday on both the baseball and softball diamonds.
In baseball action, the defending ODAC champion Hornets of Lynchburg, were all the buzz against Roanoke College. The teams high potent offense wasted no time getting started after dropping three runs in the opening inning. On the mound, Collins McGuire made life difficult for the Maroons. The freshman pitecked 6 1/3 innings, only allowing three runs. McGuire guided Lynchburg to a 5-1 advantage before his exit.
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Roanoke made things interesting when it scored three runs in the seventh inning. Freshman Kyle Moshier hit a three-run home run to cut the Hornets lead down to one run. But, Lynchburg countered with two runs in both the 8th and 9th innings on its way to a 9-4 victory.
Lynchburg has now won it’s 11th title in program history and did so in back-to-back fashion.
In the ODAC softball finals, Roanoke College needed to get two wins over top seeded Virginia Wesleyan in order to hoist a trophy. The Maroons did their job in game two early Saturday, scoring nine unanswered runs in the 9-4 victory. The Roanoke offense came to life in the fifth inning, scoring four times with two outs. Kate Houle delivered a two-run single, Madison Courts brought a run in with a double and Lauren Hoffman tied the game with an infield hit.
After Roanoke loaded the base with one out in the sixth, Houle gave Roanoke a 5-4 lead with a single. Lilly Burns cleared the bases with a double to right center and the Maroons added an insurance run in the seventh off a wild pitch, forcing a decisive game three.
Runs were hard to come by in the third and final game of the series. The Maroons lone run was scored by Leah Butts on a wild pitch. They led 1-0 until the top of the sixth inning. Pitcher Julia Piotrowski brought the heat on the mound and at the plate. She hit the go-ahead two-run home run on the Marlins way to a 4-1 championship win. Virginia Wesleyan claimed its 9th ODAC title in the last 10 years the tournament has been played, the 15th overall for the program.