The Virginia Wesleyan University baseball team (17-15, 7-7 ODAC) showed fight at the plate and put together a key scoring inning, but a nationally-ranked Lynchburg squad proved too much as the Marlins fell 11-2.
Ty James led the Marlins with a perfect day at the plate, going 3-for-3 with two walks and a run scored.
Gino Meienschein added a pair of hits and scored once, while
Nick Valentin and
Reynaldo Perez Mendez each drove in a run to account for Virginia Wesleyan's offense.
Lynchburg struck first in the opening inning and gradually built momentum, taking advantage of timely hitting and pressure on the bases to extend its lead.
The Marlins stayed within reach early, collecting hits in each of the first three innings, but couldn't capitalize on multiple baserunners. The Hornets broke things open in the fifth inning, scoring four runs to push the lead to 7-0.
Virginia Wesleyan answered in the bottom half of the fifth with its best offensive frame of the day. Back-to-back singles from Ty James and Gino Meienschein sparked the rally before Nick Valentin delivered an RBI single. Reynaldo Perez Mendez followed with a bases-loaded walk to bring home another run and cut the deficit to 7-2.
