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Jackson Harding is headed to the College World Series. The 2018 graduate of Randolph-Henry High helped the University of Lynchburg baseball team punch its ticket to the Division III College World Series with a win Saturday over Shenandoah in the Lynchburg super regional. 

Jackson, who is the starting right fielder for Lynchburg, is currently batting .313 as a graduate student. He graduated from the University of Lynchburg in 2022 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration. Now he’s working on his master’s degree in the same subject. The fifth-year senior had an extra year of eligibility to play on the team due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

During his time at the school, Jackson has been part of three consecutive school record-setting seasons, when it comes to wins. This year, Lynchburg recorded the most yet, with a record of 43-7.  

More about the College World Series

This is the first time in history the University of Lynchburg has made it to the Division III College World Series. So how does this work? Well, Jackson and his team will travel this week to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, as all of the games will be played at PG Cares Field at Veterans Memorial Stadium. 

This is the home of Minnesota Twins High-A minor league affiliate, the Cedar Rapids Kernals. As for the games, there will be eight super-regional champions competing for the title. Each side of the bracket will complete a double-elimination tournament from Friday, June 2-Monday, June 5. The two remaining teams will play a best-of-three championship series from Wednesday, June 7-Thursday, June 8 to crown a national champion.

The University of Lynchburg is the #3 seed and will take on Wisconsin – La Crosse on Friday, June 2, with first pitch set for 8:45 p.m. The two teams are joined by Salisbury and East Texas Baptist in one half of the bracket. The other four teams are Johns Hopkins, Endicott, Baldwin Wallace, and Misericordia. 

Jackson is the son of Mark and Kelli Harding of Keysville.