By Ben Cates & Bryson GordonThe News & Advance
In La Verne, California, Lynchburg starter Wesley Arrington was dominant once again, allowing one run across eight innings, and the Hornets broke open what had been a pitchers' duel by scoring six runs in the eighth inning for a 7-1 win in the opening game of an NCAA Division III super regional against La Verne on Friday.
Leopards starter Niko Urquidi held the Lynchburg bats in check by giving up just two hits across five innings. But Lynchburg showed signs of life in the seventh, when Brandon Garcia hit a two-out double to right. He tied the game with heads-up base running when Benton Jones hit a grounder to third that La Verne's Aiden Salcedo couldn't field cleanly. Salcedo's throw to first was late, and Garcia streaked home to tie the game.
Lynchburg (34-15) exploded in the eighth, scoring all six runs in that frame with two outs. The scoring barrage was highlighted by Jones' two-run single.
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Josh Gjormand led the Hornets with two hits.
La Verne (30-15-1) got four of its six hits from the top four spots in the lineup.
Arrington earned the win, scattering six hits and striking out two in eight innings. He forced 14 ground-ball outs. Colin McGuine worked the final frame for Lynchburg, which has now won nine straight games.
La Vern's Austin Klopfenstein (one inning) took the loss in relief of Urquidi (6⅔ innings pitched), allowing four earned runs, a walk and hitting two batters.
Arrington's story continues to grow. He has been lights out in the postseason dating back to last year, when Lynchburg won the national championship.
The super regional against La Verne is a best-of-three series, meaning the Hornets can advance to the DIII national championships with a win Saturday.
The day's first game is scheduled for 2 p.m. Eastern. Should La Verne win that game, the two teams would play the deciding contest later in the day, time to be determined.
Liberty 6, Louisiana Tech 2
In Ruston, Louisiana, Friday's formula for Liberty baseball in the second round of the Conference USA baseball championships was nearly identical to that of its win Thursday.
The Flames got a lengthy performance from their starting pitcher. Right fielder Camden Troyer hit another two-run home run in the game's middle innings. And reliever Ben Blair was on the bump in the ninth inning to close things out.
And just like Thursday, the Flames walked away with a win, this time over top-seeded Louisiana Tech to set themselves up in the tournament semifinals on Saturday at 1:30 p.m.
Liberty will get a rematch for its next game, playing the winner of Friday's elimination game between Tech and Sam Houston, which it beat 9-3 on Thursday.
Flames starter Nick Moran came just one out shy of matching Thursday's starter Cole Hertzler's performance, as Moran was pulled from the game after surrendering the Bulldogs' only runs on a two-run home run with one out in the eighth.
Moran allowed six Bulldogs hits in 7⅓ innings, striking out six and walking two. The length provided by Liberty's only two pitchers to record double-digit starts this season will help set its staff up for a busy weekend of baseball ahead.
After a third-inning RBI single by Macaddin Dye, Liberty jumped on the Bulldogs in the fourth with back-to-back homers by Troyer and Cam Foster.
Foster struck first for the Flames, lifting his third homer of the tournament out to right center for a 3-0 lead. Foster leaned on the third pitch of his at-bat, launching the ball out of the ballpark.
Liberty continued to add on runs in the eighth and ninth, getting an RBI single by Tanner Marsh in the eighth and an opposite-field solo home run by Todd Hudson for insurance in the ninth.
Working in relief for the second-straight day, Blair mowed through the Bulldogs, facing the minimum for the final five outs. He added three strikeouts and was credited with the save.
The Flames are now in the driver's seat of their half of the bracket and will need to be beaten twice by the winner of Friday's elimination game in order to be sent home. They can advance to Sunday's winner-take-all championship with one win Saturday.
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