Lyndonville, VT - The Vermont State University Lyndon baseball team will begin its quest for the North Atlantic Conference Championship on Thursday afternoon, when they travel to Husson University to face the Eagles in the opening game of the NAC Championship Tournament. First pitch is scheduled for 12:00 noon at the Dr. John W. Winkin Sports Complex on the Husson campus.
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Lyndon (16-23, 12-12) enters the double elimination tournament as the number four seed. The Hornets dropped three of four games with top seeded Husson (21-16, 19-5) during the regular season. The two teams split a doubleheader on April 18th, with the Eagles taking game one, 16-4, before the Hornets rallied for a 9-8 victory in the nightcap. Husson swept the second twin bill last Wednesday, shutting out Lyndon, 11-0, in the opener and rallying for a 12-8 win in game two.
A trio of .300 hitters have been the catalysts for the Hornet offense this season. Sophomore outfielder Sean Dunton (Quechee, VT) has enjoyed a breakout season, batting a team leading .338 with 14 runs batted in. Dunton is also a perfect 11 for 11 in stolen base attempts and has 55 putouts and two assists in right field without committing an error. Transfer second baseman Cesar Cisneros (National City, CA) is batting .319 wth four doubles and a triple and 19 RBIs. He leads the Hornets with 13 stolen bases. Another transfer, Tredell Blow (Vorktown, VA) is hitting .305 with two home runs and a team best 28 RBIs.
Senior first baseman Ryan Alt (Poultney, VT, .254, 2 HR), sophomore third baseman Eyon Tembreull (Vergennes, VT, .274, 1 HR), outfielders transfer Jeren Harrison (Charlotte, NC, .198, 3 HR) and Aaron LeFrancois (Rutland, VT, .289, 10 SB), and designated hitter Matt Doherty (Gardner, MA, .293, 4 HR) are also expected to be in the starting lineup. The catching duties have been shared between Austin Bigelow (East Hampton, CT, .250), Matt Gonyeau (St. Albans, VT, .195, 1 HR), and Jess Seaton (Yorkville, IL, .143).
Graduate student left hander Carlos Rodriguez (La Mirada, CA) has been among the top pitchers in the NAC this season. He currently leads all NAC pitchers in earned run average (2.31). He is second in wins (5) and third in strikeouts. Gonyeau (0-2, 24 K), Nathan Bigelow (East Hampton, CT, 2-4, 32 K), Tyler Kimball (Vergennes, VT, 2-2, 22 K), and Mike Redmond (Plantation, FL, 1-4, 16 K) have all made multiple starts this season and could be called upon in the playoffs. In addition to his catching duties, Austin Bigelow has a 3-0 record with four saves coming out of the bullpen.
The Eagles have relied on pitching, defense, and the big inning to rise to the top of the conference standings. Husson has the lowest ERA (6.25), the most strikeouts (274), and the best fielding percentage (.968) in the conference. Avery Lawrence (2-4, 5.59 ERA), Chris Lusignan (2-0, 5.68), and Jacob Love (1-2, 6.51) ave been at the top of the rotation. Ryan Garner and Noah Hurd have been the top options out of the pen.
Junior outfielder Matt Holmes is the leading hitter in the conference. He sits atop the leader board in multiple categories including batting average (.403), home runs (9), and runs batted in (55). Cam Rendell is batting .364 with six home runs and 31 runs batted in. Henry Lausier and Yates Emerson are both hitting .333. As a team Husson leads the conference in runs scored (267) and home runs (26).
The winner of Thursday's opening game will face the winner of the day's second contest between second seed State University of New York at Cobleskill (19-19, 16-8) and third seed Thomas College (18-19, 14-10) on Friday at 11:00 am in the winner's bracket final. The losers of Thursday's first two games will square off in an elimination game on Thursday evening at 6:00 pm. The tournament will progress to Saturday's championship games. The NAC champion will earn automatic qualification to the NCAA Division III National Tournament.
