Posted: Apr 12, 2008
Salem, V.A. --- The Roanoke College baseball team split with Lynchburg College at Kiwanis Field this afternoon. The Maroons now stand at 13-19 on the season, 7-9 on the ODAC. The Hornets are 24-8, 12-2 in conference play. SeniorsMatt Vess, Brennan Thacker, Jake Furry, Mark Eubank, and Dan Fallen were honored in between games.
RC 4, LC 3
Roanoke and Lynchburg fought back and forth throughout all seven innings in the first contest as there were four lead changes. The first run was scored by the Hornets in the second inning off of two singles and a sacrifice fly. Roanoke answered back in the bottom of third with one run scored off of a Graham Thacker single and two Lynchburg errors. Senior Matt Vess was credited with the RBI giving him his twentieth of the season.
Lynchburg and the Maroons both scored one in the fourth inning. The Hornets scored off of two singles and a sacrifice fly to center field from Kyle Bradley. Senior Jake Furry hit a solo homerun to left center to lead off the bottom of the inning. Patrick Collins also had a single in the inning.
The Maroons took the lead in the fifth off of two hits. The Hornets scored one in the top of the sixth but the Maroons quickly retaliated. One run was scored from a Chris Zachodzki and G. Thacker single and a pass ball. The men finished the contest with a pickoff at first base and a double play off of a deep fly ball caught by Vess.
G. Thacker continued to lead the Maroons offensively. With an overall batting average of .416, he went 3-for-4 in the contest with one run scored. Jake Furry also had a day at the plate going 2-for-3 with two RBI, and one run scored off of a home run. His sixth home run of the season has him tied for third place with Sean Sturgill (‘06) for most home runs in a single season. Furry is now tied for third with Justin Bradley ('06) and Nate Unroe (‘07) with nine career homeruns.
Pitcher Barrett Henderson (3-4) got his third win of the season. Henderson struck out two batters and allowed only one walk in six innings of play.
Lynchburg's Ryan Litz hit 3-for-3 including one double and one RBI. Matt Winston also went 3-for-3 and earned two runs scored. Other Hornets that collected hits were, Cameron Grant, Ronnie La Brie, and Jeff Taylor.
Jonathan Nichols was on the hill for three innings and struck out two batters. Credited with the loss was Spencer Garrett who pitched 2.2 innings for the Hornets and struck out one batter. Garrett and Nichols both allowed no walks in the contest.
RC 9, LC 15
Coming off of a big win in game one of the doubleheader Roanoke was surprisingly slow to get the bats started back up. They remained scoreless until the bottom of the sixth inning. Lynchburg jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the second from a two run Matt Painter homer. The Hornets added two more to the lead in the top of the fifth off of three hits.
The sixth inning seemed to be the longest one for the errorless Maroons. The Hornets scored eight runs off of eight hits including two doubles and three homeruns. Roanoke refused to give up and in the bottom of the inning the men cut the lead to 12-4. Dan Fallen led off with a double to left center followed by a walk, hit by pitch and grand slam from Vess.
Lynchburg managed to score three more runs off of four hits in the remaining innings of the contest. Roanoke chipped away in the seventh where they scored three additional runs. Fallen and G. Thacker both doubled and both Brennan and Graham Thacker collected a RBI in the inning.
Roanoke scored two more runs in the bottom of the ninth off of a pinch hit two run homer from senior Mark Eubank, the first of his career. Still down 15-9, the Maroons fell short due to a game-ending double play.
Brennan Thacker was 2-for-4 including one RBI and one run scored. Fallen also went 2-for-4 in the contest with two runs scored. Starting pitcher Drew Wallace (2-4) pitched 5.2 innings and was credited with the loss.
G. Thacker had a total of five hits on the day to tally one RBI and two runs scored. He moved into first place with most hits in a single season (51) passing the 2004 record of 50 set by Sean Sturgill ('06).
Lynchburg starting pitcher D.W. Moore (4-1) earned the win, his fourth of the season. Moore struck out two batters in 6.2 innings of work on the mound. Winston, Painter, and Litz all collected a home run in the contest. Painter hit 3-for-5 with three RBI and three runs scored. Litz was 2-for-4 including one RBI and two runs scored.
The Maroons will host Ferrum on Monday, April 14 at Kiwanis Field. The Panthers are 8-16 overall and 2-8 in conference play. Ferrum holds a 0-7 advantage in the series. Game time is scheduled for 7 p.m.
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