Lyndonville, VT - Trailing by six runs going into the bottom of the seventh inning of the nightcap of Thursday's North Atlantic Conference baseball doubleheader against Thomas College, Northern Vermont University-Lyndon rallied to bring the winning run to the plate. The comeback came up just short, however, as Thomas held on for an 8-6 victory to complete the sweep of the day's games. The Terriers had prevailed, 17-9, in the opener. With the sweep, Thomas improved to 18-15 on the season and 13-3 in conference. Lyndon fell to 8-23 overall and 4-8 in the NAC.
Game 1 - Thomas 17, NVU-Lyndon 9
The Terriers capitalized on a nightmare top of the first inning for the Hornets, as Lyndon committed five errors in the frame, leading to seven Thomas runs, five of which were unearned. Nick Hutson had a big game at the plate for Thomas, going three for three with a pair of doubles. Jason Bartlett homered and doubled, drove in four runs, and scored three. Reid Gagnon also had two hits, driving in three runs and scoring twice.
EJ Camden (Corona, CA) led the Hornet offense, going three for three with a doubler, two runs batted in, and a run scored. Anthony Ness (Silver Springs, NV) had two hits and drove in four runs.
Tyler Cantey, the Terriers' second of four pitchers, picked up the win, while Lyndon starter Dylan Crump (Falls Village, CT) took the loss.
Game 2 - Thomas 8, NVU-Lyndon 6
Fielding miscues plagued the Hornets again in the nightcap, as Thomas built an 8-2 lead through five innings, helped in part by four Hornet errors. The Hornets staged a big rally in the bottom of the seventh. Four consecutive hits, highlighted by Santaw's bases clearing triple, cut the Thomas lead to 8-6 with two outs and the tying runs on base. The Terriers were able to get the final out, however, to escape with the win.
Thomas pounded out 13 hits in the game, led by Aaron Young. Young was four for four with a home run, a double, two runs batted in, and two runs scored. Elijah Morton added three hits in five at bats. Cam Haynes had a single, a double, and two runs scored and Austin Stebbins drove in two with a pair of sacrifice flys.
Santaw had a big game in his final home appearance. He went three for four with two runs batted in and two runs scored. Dylan Wilson (Monroe, CT) was three for four with a run scored and Dale Ostermann (Milford, DE) chipped in with a two-run base hit.
Tony Meza pitched 6.1 innings to earn the victory. Alberto Bustamante (Los Angeles, CA) started for the Hornets and absorbed the loss.
The Hornets conclude their season with a four-game series at the University of Maine at Presque Isle this weekend. Saturday's doubleheader is scheduled to begin at 1:00 pm, with Sunday's twinbill set for noon.
