Farmington, ME - The Northern Vermont University-Lyndon baseball team came from behind to down the University of Maine at Farmington in the opening game of Sunday's North Atlantic Conference doubleheader, then outslugged the hosts in the nightcap.  With the sweep, the Hornets improve to 7-16 overall and 3-1 in NAC play.  The Beavers fall to 4-17 on the season and 2-4 in conference.

Game 1 - NVU-Lyndon 6, UMaine-Farmington 3

The Hornets jumped in front with two runs in the top of the first inning.  TJ Santaw (Newport, VT) started things with a one-out triple off of UMF starter Will Harriman.  Skyler Bushey's (Essex, VT) base hit scored Santaw to put Lyndon in front.  Ryder Thornton (Essex, VT) followed with another base hit, then Jordan Cane (Merrimac, MA) singled to drive in Bushey.

UMF got one run back in the bottom of the first.  Hunter LaBossiere led off with a single off of Hornet starter Carlos Rodriguez (La Mirada, CA) and later scored on Ryan Sargent's sacrifice fly.

The Beavers tied things in the home half of the fourth inning.  Derek Gendreau led off with a double, then Matt Haines reached on an error.  Jonny Pruett's double to right scored Gendreau, but Rodriguez retired the next two batters to end the Beaver threat.

Riley Bartell hit a home run leading off the bottom of the fifth inning to put UMF in front, 3-2.  However, the Hornets played long ball themselves in the top of the sixth to retake the lead.  Santaw led off with a base hit, then Bushey homered over the right field fence to make it 4-3, Lyndon.  Then, after Cane walked, Tyler Murro (Littleton, NH) hit a two-out, two-run shot to extend the Lyndon lead to 6-3.

Dale Ostermann (Harrington, DE) and Jacob Wechselblatt (Reston, VA) each threw a scoreless inning of relief for the Hornets to close out the victory.  Alberto Bustamante (Los Angeles, CA), who had come on for Rodriguez in the bottom of the fifth, picked up the victory, with Wechselblatt earning the save.  Harriman was tagged with the loss for UMF.

GAME 2 - NVU-Lyndon 23, UMaine-Farmington 14

Both teams broke out the heavy lumber in the nightcap.  Lyndon got going first, with to runs in the top of the second inning.  After Cane walked and Dylan Wilson (Monroe, CT) singled, Murro's RBI single back up the middle scored Cane.  Wilson later came around to score after Sean Cavanaugh (Londonderry, NH) popped out.

The Hornets tacked on three more runs in the top of the third inning.  John Mahoney (Navarre, FL) reached on an error leading off, then Santaw walked.  Bushey doubled into the gap in right center field, scoring both runners.  Bushey later scored on Murro's base hit.

Lyndon seemingly broke the game open in the top of the fourth inning.  Oscar Parades (Toa Baja, Puerto Rico) led off with a base hit, then Mahoney doubled.  Santaw followed with an RBI single, then Bushey delivered an RBI double.  After Thornton was hit by a pitch to load the bases, Santaw scored on Cane's ground out.  Wilson then came through with a base hit to left, scoring both Bushey and Thornton, and externding the Hornet lead to 10-0.

Meanwhile, Hornet starter Matt Page (Groton, VT) cruised through the first three innings, retiring the first nine Beaver batters.  However, with two outs and two runners on in the bottom of the fourth, the Beavers strung together five straight hits Will Cauchon, Gendreau, Haines, Troy Johnson, and Nate Coombs, producing five UMF runs.

Lyndon scratched out two runs without a base hit in the top of the fifth inning.  After a pair of errors and an intentional walk loaded the bases, Thornton reached on a throwing error and Cane drew a bases loaded walk.

UMF got a run back in the bottom of the fifth when Tyler Lambert led off with a double and Sargent doubled him home.

The Hornets erupted in the top of the sixth inning.  Murro reached on an error, then Cavanaugh beat out an infield hit and Parades was hit by a pitch, loading the bases.  Mahoney's sacrifice fly scored Murro.  Then Santaw's two-run single scored Cavanaugh and Parades.  With two out, Santaw stole second, then scored on Thornton's base hit.  Thornton stole second and came home on Cane's double.  Wilson's two-run home run to center field ballooned the Lyndon lead to 19-6.

Johnson homered in the bottom of the sixth inning.  Later in the inning, Bartell's two-run single cut the Hornet lead to 19-9.

Lyndon added another run in the top of the seventh inning.  Santaw doubled with two outs.  After Bushey was intentionally walked, Thornton's base hit to right scored Santaw.

The Beavers loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom of the seventh inning.  Johnson then hit into a fielder's choice, scoring one run, and Pruett beat out an infield hit, scoring another.  After a walk to LaBossier loaded the bases again, Lambert reached on a fielder's choice, scoring another run.

The Hornets scored three more times in the top of the eighth inning.  Wilson singled leading off, then Carlos Batista (Davenport, FL) walked.  Mahoney's base hit scored Wilson, then UMF misplayed Santaw's base hit, allowing Batista and Mahoney to score.

UMF loaded the bases with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning.  Bartell then delivered a two-run single, but it was far too little, too late.

Will Perkins (Holtwood, PA), the second of four Lyndon pitchers, earned the win.  Beaver starter Ky Morris took the loss.

The 23 runs scored were the most by a Hornet team since the program returned to NCAA Division III play in 2010.

The same two teams will complete the four-game series with another doubleheader on Monday.  First pitch is scheduled for noon.