LYNCHBURG, Va. -- The Washington and Lee baseball team (21-12) reached the championship game of the ODAC Tournament for the first time since 1984 on Sunday afternoon by defeating Bridgewater (25-17) by a score of 10-9. However, the Eagles came back in the championship game, 13-2 to claim the ODAC title in the double elimination tournament at Lynchburg's City Stadium.

In the first game, Bridgewater jumped ahead with three runs in the first inning and one in the second to take a quick 4-0 lead on the Generals and sophomore starting pitcher Bill Christ (Barnaveld, N.Y./ Holland Patent Central). However, W&L came storming back in the middle innings with three runs in the fourth, four in the fifth, and five in the sixth to take a 10-4 lead. Bridgewater came back with a five-run seventh to cut the lead to 10-9. W&L junior relief pitcher Kevin Swenson (Wayne, N.J./ Wayne) came in to close the door in the eighth inning. David Sigler (Strasburg, Pa./ Lampeter-Strasburg) then slammed it shut by pitching a hitless ninth for his first save of the season, clinching the 10-9 victory.

The Generals were led offensively by junior first baseman Russell Wrenn (Baltimore, Md./ Gilman). who went 2-for-5 with four RBI. Junior right fielder Schuyler Marshall (Dallas, Tex./ Highland Park) went 1-for-4 with two RBI.

Christ picked up his first win of the season, pitching six innings, giving up just six hits and three earned runs. Bridgewater's Josh Whitley took the loss.

In the championship game, the Eagles scored early and often with three runs in the first inning and seven in the third to cruise to the 13-2 victory and claim their first ODAC crown since 1996.

Catcher Chip Woody and third baseman Mike Padgett led the way for the Eagles, both going 3-for-5 with 3 RBI. Wrenn went 2-for-4 with an RBI to lead W&L.

ODAC Tournament MVP Gene Crawford (5-3) got the win for Bridgewater, allowing just seven hits and one earned run. Sigler (8-3) took the loss for the Generals.

Five Generals were named to the all-tournament team. Wrenn was named the team's designated hitter. He hit .400 for the tournament (8-for-20) with 10 RBI. Senior second baseman Patrick Hall (Houston, Tex./ Episcopal) was named to the team for the second time after going 5-for-19 with two RBI this weekend. Marshall joined the team with another .400 performance (6-for-15) with four RBI. Senior E.J. Murphy (Glenside, Pa./ Chestnut Hill Academy) was named the all-tournament catcher by hitting .444 for the weekend (8-for-18) with four RBI. The final piece of the quintet was junior pitcher Chris Stakem (Oklahoma City, Okla./ Casady), who pitched the Generals into the championship round on Saturday night by pitching a complete game, giving up only nine hits and five earned runs, including just one in the last four innings in a 13-6 win over Virginia Wesleyan.