LYNCHBURG, Va. – The fifth-seeded Washington and Lee baseball team exploded for 10 runs in the fourth inning to secure a 15-4 win over second-seeded Virginia Wesleyan in the opening day of the 2008 ODAC Baseball Tournament at Lynchburg City Stadium.

After the Marlins tacked up one run in the bottom of the third, the Generals' bats came alive in the ensuing frame, racking up nine hits and 10 runs, including a two-run single from freshman leftfielder Anthony Cardona (Lower Gwynedd, Pa./Chestnut Hill), to jump out to a 10-1 lead. VWC managed three runs in the bottom of the seventh, but W&L added five additional runs for the 15-4 final.

W&L (22-10) was paced by sophomore third baseman Jim Plantholt, who batted 2-for-4 with three RBI. Junior second basemen Byron Peyster (Washington, D.C./Maret) hit 2-for-2 with two RBI, while junior center fielder Terrence McKelvey (East Islip, N.Y.) had two hits in six at-bats with a double and an RBI. Sophomore catcher Will Lewis (Columbia, S.C./A.C. Flora) and senior rightfielder James Madden (Dallas, Texas/Highland Park) each had two hits in five at-bats with an RBI. Sophomore righthander Chuck Davidson (Winnetka, Ill./New Trier) improved to 5-2 on the season as he hurled six innings and allowed five hits and just one earned run before giving way to the bullpen.

First baseman Adam Marx tallied two hits in four at-bats for the Marlins (24-13-1), while leftfielder Kevin Nally was 1-for-4 with a double and one RBI and rightfielder Ozz Dhramapitaksook went 2-for-5 from the plate. Righthander Jesse Freeman (6-2) tossed the opening three innings of the contest, allowing five hits and six earned runs. The Marlins then used eight relievers to finish the contest.

The Generals return to action for the second day of the double-elimination tournament on Friday. The Blue and White will take on the winner of the Bridgewater/Randolph-Macon contest at 7:00 pm at Lynchburg City Stadium.