JUMBOS FALL TO LYNCHBURG IN SEASON OPENER

COLLEGE BASEBALL FINAL SCORE
Lynchburg 11    Tufts 4

at Lynchburg, VA
Friday, March 15, 2002

Game Box Score

Records - T, 0-1; L, 8-7.

LYNCHBURG, VA -- Lynchburg P Blair Hayden pitched eight shutout innings and held off a late rally as the host Hornets defeated visiting Tufts University on Friday, 11-4. Lynchburg SS John Garrison went 4-for-4 with a home run and two doubles to lead the Hornets to victory in front of their home crowd. Tufts sophomore SS Brian Shapiro (Swampscott, MA) went 4-for-5 with a triple in the loss.

Hayden controlled the game, holding the Jumbos scoreless on just six hits through the first eight innings. Tufts failed to capitalize on several opportunities to score, including senior RF Dan Callahan's (Medfield, MA) first-inning, two-out triple. The Jumbos left 11 men on base in the game. Senior captain P Steve Lapham (Newburyport, MA) gave up six earned runs in five innings of work. He gave up a couple of runs in the second inning on a pair of singles and Garrison's first double to spot the Hornets a 2-0 lead. After a one-run fourth inning, Lynchburg made a three-run charge in the fifth to take a 6-0 lead on another double by Garrison and CF Nick Bayer's home run. Lapham's replacements were equally ineffective, giving up five runs in the final three innings.

The Jumbos made a late charge in the ninth. They led off with back-to-back singles by freshman Bob Kenny (Milford, MA) and Nick Palange (Hudson, MA), both of whom later scored. After getting Tufts to hit into a double play -- allowing Kenny to score -- Hayden was replaced by Matt Gouker. The Jumbos jumped on Gouker early. Callahan's single and Shapiro's triple knocked in a run each. Senior 1B Tim Ayres (Irvine, CA) followed with an RBI single before sophomore C Greg Hickey (Medway, MA) grounded out to short to end the game.

The Jumbos will continue their Virginia trip with back-to-back games at St. Andrew's College on Monday, March 18.

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