For the first time in more than a decade, the Lyndon State College baseball program put together a winning season and received a bid to the United States Collegiate Athletics Association National Baseball Championships.

The Hornets opened the competition with a tough 4-2 loss to tourney host The Apprentice School, before recording a hard-fought 4-3 victory over Penn State Beaver. In tournament semifinals, LSC led Robert Morris College of Springfield 8-5 in the top of the seventh inning only to see the Eagles rally for four runs and an eventual 9-8 win. The loss ended Lyndon State's season with a final overall record of 17-15.

Senior Michael Swan (Southington, Conn.) led the team in hitting and slugging percentage with averages of .432 and .556, respectively, while sophomore Jake Ainsworth (Fairfax, Vt.) swung the bat at a .407 clip and topped the team in on-base percentage with a mark of .514. Senior Jordan Royer (Lyndonville, Vt.), who hit .350 on the season, tied Swan for most runs-batted-in on the team with 22 and the trio of Jason Ryan (Montgomery, Vt.), Ben Clark (Brattleboro, Vt.) and Rob Malloy (Burlington, Vt.) were tops in home runs with two each. Malloy, a senior centerfielder, also hit a sizzling .390 on the season and stole a team-high seven bases.

On the mound, junior Matthew Picard (Winooski, VT.) solidified himself as the ace of the pitching staff with a record of 6-4 and an earned-run-average of 2.58. He allowed only 17 earned runs on 60 hits in 594 and one-third innings. Picard, a left-hander, struck out 50 opposing batters while walking 17. Junior Jesse Ballard (Alburgh, Vt.) earned five victories this season against one loss and Ainsworth led the staff in saves with three.

Program Highlights

2008 USCAA National Baseball Championships - 4th Place

1995 Mayflower Conference Champions