Lyndonville, VT - Northern Vermont University-Lyndon got a pair of stellar pitching performances from Sam Ognenoff (Brattleboro, VT) and Codi Smith (Hartford, VT) in sweeping Saturday's pivotal North Atlantic Conference baseball doubleheader from Thomas College.  With the wins, the Hornets improve to 11-9 on the season and 11-6 in NAC play.  The Terriers fall to 10-10 overall and 9-8 in conference.

Game 1 - NVU-Lyndon 2, Thomas 0

The Hornets jumped in front in the bottom half of the first inning.  Ryder Thornton (Essex, VT) led off with a base hit and stole second.  TJ Santaw (Newport, VT) singled, moving Thornton to third, then Thornton came home on Smith's sacrifice fly.

Lyndon tacked on another run in the bottom of the third inning.  Thornton again started things with a one-out single.  He moved to third on Smith's base hit and came in to score on Jordan Cane's (Merrimac, MA) double.

That would be all that Ognenoff would need, as he kept the Terriers off the scoreboard.  Ognenoff picked up the complete game victory by scattering four hits and striking out six batters without giving up a walk.  Ryan Scepansky started and went the distance for Thomas, giving up six hits and striking out four.

Game 2 - NVU-Lyndon 6, Thomas 2

The nightcap would start out as a pitcher's duel between Smith and Thomas starter Nicholas Howard.  Neither team was able to push across a run through the first three and a half innings.

The Hornets broke through in their half of the fourth.  Cane was hit by a pitch leading off, then back to back singles from Tyler Roberge (Essex, VT) and Parker Perron (Barton, VT) loaded the bases with no outs.  Matt Brault (Milton, VT) then reached on an error, allowing Cane to score the first run of the game.  Sean Cavanaugh (Londonderry, NH) then hit a slow roller for an infield hit, and an error on the play allowed both Roberge and Perron to score.  Thornton then drove in Brault when he grounded out.  Santaw's RBI single scored Cavanaugh.  After Santaw stole second, Smith drove him home with the sixth run of the inning.

Thomas scored their only runs of the day in the top of the fifth inning.  After Jacob Perry drew a one-out walk, Kyle Gleason hit a two-run home run over the right field wall to cut the Hornet lead to 6-2.

That would be as close as Thomas would get, however, as Smith retired the Terriers in order in the sixth inning, then struck out the side in the seventh to close out the complete game win.  He allowed only three hits in the game, and matched his season high by striking out 13.  Howard took the loss for Thomas.

Lyndon and Thomas will square off again on Sunday in another doubleheader that will decide second place in the NAC East Division and a berth in the conference playoffs.  With today's sweep, the Hornets now hold a two-game lead over the Terriers.  If Lyndon wins either game on Sunday, the Hornets will qualify and face Husson University in the NAC East championship series.  If Thomas sweeps the doubleheader then the Terriers will claim the playoff spot.  First pitch at the Skip Pound Baseball Complex is scheduled for 1:00 pm.