Bangor, ME - The Vermont State University Lyndon baseball season came to an end with a pair of heartbreaking losses in the North Atlantic Conference Championship Tournament on Thursday. After suffering a 3-2 walkoff loss to host and top seed Husson University (22-16) in the first game of the day, the Hornets couldn't hold off third seed Thomas College in a wild nightcap. Thomas improved to 19-20, while Lyndon closed their campaign at 16-25.
Game 1 - Husson 3, VTSU Lyndon 2
The opening game of the tournament unfolded as a pitchers' due; between Lyndon ace Carlos Rodriguez (La Mirada, CA) and Husson's Avery Lawrence. Both pitchers were strong over eight innings, but neither ultimately factored into the decision.
The Hornets got on the board first in the top of the third inning. Aaron LeFrancois (Rutland, VT) led off the frame with a base hit back up the middle, then stole second. After Cesar Cisneros (National City, CA) walked, Sean Dunton (Quechee, VT) laid down a sacrifice bunt to move the runners up 90 feet. Eyon Tembreull (Vergennes, VT) then lifted a sacrifice fly to center field, scoring LeFrancois to put Lyndon in front.
Husson responded in the bottom half of the third inning. With one out, Yates Emerson reached on an error, then moved to third on a wild pitch. He came home to tie things on Colin Marshall's base hit. After Preston Libby singles, Matt Holmes walked to load the bases. Liam Kelley followed with another walk, bringing home Marshall with another unearned run. Rodriguez was able to strike out Hunter Curtis to put an end to the threat.
LeFrancois again got the Hornets going in the top of the fifth inning with a one out base hit. After he stole second, Cisneros singled to move LeFrancois to third. Dunton then laid down a squeeze bunt, bringing home LeFrancois to make it 2-2.
Both pitchers then hung zeros on the scoreboard through eight innings. Ryan Garner came on for Lawrence in the top of the ninth and retired the Hornets in order.
Matt Gonyeau (St. Albans, VT) came out from behind the plate to relieve Rodriguez in the bottom of the ninth inning. He issued a leadoff walk to Trevor Poisson on a 3-2 pitch. After Emerson moved Poisson to second with a sacrifice bunt, Marshall reached on a fielder's choice when the Hornets failed to get Poisson at third. Libby walked to load the bases, then Cam Rendell lifted a sacrifice fly to center field, scoring Poisson and giving the Eagles the walk off win.
Garner picked up the win after his scoreless inning of relief. Lawrence allowed five hits and struck out seven against three walks. Rodriguez threw 134 pitches over his eight innings, allowing no earned runs and seven hits, with eight strikeouts and three walks. Gonyeau took the loss in relief.
Game 2 - Thomas 16, VTSU Lyndon 14
After Lyndon's loss to Husson, third seeded Thomas came up on the short end of a 16-11 result against the State University of New York at Cobleskill, sending the Terriers into an elimination game against the Hornets. Thomas wasted little time getting going when Nick Griffel delivered a one-out triple. DJ Cagnina followed with an RBI double to score Griffel and give Thomas the lead. Ajay Rychcik then singled and Gavin Clark walked, loading the bases. Next Gus Hollen reached on a fielder's choice, bringing home Cagnina to make it 2-0, Terriers.
Lyndon responded in the bottom half of the inning. Cisneros singled leading off the bottom of the first inning. After Cisneros moved to second on a wild pitch, Tembreull drove him in with another base hit. Tredell Blow (Yorktown, VA) doubled home Tembreull to tie the game, then scored himself when Ryan Alt (Poultney, VT) reached on an error.
Thomas regained the lead with three runs in the top of the second inning. Grady Hotham walked to open the inning. Jeremy Spencer doubled, then Evan Nadeau walked to load the bases. Hotham scored to knot the game at 3-3 when Hayden Dippner reached on a fielder's choice. Spencer scored to put Thomas back in front when Griffel grounded into a double play, then Cagnina's RBI single brought home Nadeau to make it 5-3, Terriers.
Lyndon got one run back in the bottom of the second when Jeren Harrison (Charlotte, NC) tripled leading off then scored on Dunton's double.
After an uneventful third inning, Thomas scored twice in the top of the fourth. Cagnina's two-out solo home run made it 6-4, then Rychcik walked, stole second, and scored on Clark's base hit.
Harrison started the bottom of the fourth inning with a base hit. LeFrancois and Cisneros beat out back to back bunt singles to load the bases, then Dunton walked to drive in a run. Tembreull's base hit to center scored LeFrancois, then Blow's sacrifice fly brought home Cisneros to tie the game at 7-7. Eric Hernandez Jr. (Fairfax, VT) came through with an RBI single to score Dunton and put the Hornets back in front.
LeFrancois beat out a bunt single leading off the bottom of the fifth inning. He moved to second on an error, to third on Cisneros' sacrifice bunt, and scored on an wild pitch. After Dunton walked and Tembreull singled, Blow lifted a three run blast over the left field wall, extending the Hornet lead to 12-7.
After neither team scored in th sixth inning, Thomas crept closer in the top of the seventh. Nadeau started things with a one-out double and Dippner was hit by a pitch. Then with two outs, Cagnina reached on an error and both runners scored, pulling the Terriers to within 12-9.
After the Hornets were retired in the bottom of the seventh inning, Clark led off the top of the eighth inning with a double. Hollen was hit by a pitch, bringing the tying run to the plate. Both runners moved up on a wild pitch, then Clark scored on another wild pitch. With two outs, Nadeau hit a ball to the left center field wall and came all the way around for an inside the park home run to tie the game at 12-12.
Alt doubled in the bottom of the eighth inning, but was stranded, sending the teams to the ninth inning tied.
Rychcik led off the top of the ninth with a double down the right field line. Clark then walked and Hollen beat out a bunt single to load the bases. After a strikeout, Pedro Hernandez walked to bring home Rychcik with the go ahead run. A balk call brought in Clark, then Hollen scored on a wild pitch. Dippner's single scored Hernandes with the fourth run of the inning, giving Thomas a 16-12 lead.
Down to their final three outs, Lyndon would not go quietly. LeFrancois and Cisneros drew back to back walks. Tembreull doubled down the right field line, scoring both runners and bringing the tying run to the plate. However Thomas reliever Brody Walsh was able to get Blow and Hernandez to ground out, giving the Terriers the win and ending the Hornet season.
The Hornets will lose seven seniors and two graduate students to graduation, but expect to have 23 players back as the nucleus of the 2027 team. Lyndon will build on thier first NAC Tournament appearance in seven seasons. This season the Hornets also posted the most wins and the best conference record over that seven-year span.
