Lyndonville, VT - With their North Atlantic Conference playoff berth secure and their seed locked in, the Vermont State University Lyndon baseball team wrapped up the regular season with a conference doubleheader against the University of Maine at Farmington on Sunday afternoon. The Beavers got the best of the Hornets in both ends of the twin bill to conclude their season with an overall record of 14-25 and a conference mark of 10-14. The Hornets closed the regular season at 16-23 overall and 12-12 in the NAC.
Game 1 - UMaine-Farmington 6, VTSU Lyndon 1
The Beavers jumped in front in the second inning when Ben Mello singled home Jameson Bloch. UMF added four runs in the top of the third inning, thanks largely to three walks and a Lyndon error. Lyndon's Ryan Alt (Poultney, VT) homered Leading off the Lyndon fourth, but that would be the only time Lyndon would put a run on the board. UMF added an insurance run in the top of the seventh to account for the final score.
Bloch and Tyler Rosa paced the Beaver attack with two hits apiece. Roosa had two hits, drove in two, and scored twice.Bloch drove in a run and scored twice. Mello drove in a pair.
Lyndon only managed four hits off of Beaver pitcher Brady Vincent. Besides Alt's home run, Tredell Blow (Yorktown, VA) had a single and a double and Jeren Harrison (Charlotte, NC) had a base knock.
Vincent struck out four and walked two in picking up the complete game victory. Lyndon starter Mike Redmond (Plantation, FL) took the loss.
Game 2 - UMaine-Farmington 9, VTSU Lyndon 5
The series finale looked like it might be a slug fest early on. Vincent's two run home run in the top of the first inning gave the Beavers the early lead, but the Hornets responded by scoring four times in the bottom of the first and chasing UMF starter Kyle Sawyer in the process. Sean Dunton (Quecheee, VT) started things with a one out base hit. He later scored on Jaren Harrison's (Charlotte, NC) double. Blow drove in Harrison to tie the game, then a Braeden Adams (Montpelier, VT) two-run double put Lyndon in front.
The Beavers cut the Hornet lead to 4-3 in the top of the second inning, then plated five runs, there of them unearned, in the top of the fifth inning to take the lead. Each team scored once in the seventh to account for the final score.
Vincent had three hits and scored twice to pace UMF. Ike Wrigley drove in a pair. Will Buchholz came in with two outs in the bottom of the first inning, then pitched 6.1 innings of four-hit, one-run relief to earn the win.
Dunton had two of Lyndon's seven hits. Cesar Cisneros (National City, CA) and Matt Gonyeau (St. Albans, VT) were the other Hornets to hit safely. Lyndon starter Isaiah Gutierrez (Nashau, NH) took the loss.
The Hornets will now turn their attention to the NAC Championship Tournament. Fourth seeded Lyndon will open play at tournament host and top seed Husson University on Thursday at 12:00 noon. The Hornets' second game of the double elimination event will be against either second seeded State University of New York at Cobleskill or third seeded Thomas College. Full tournament details will be announced by the conference office in the coming days.
