BRIDGEWATER, Va. – The Washington and Lee baseball team recorded its eighth straight victory by breaking open a tie game with two runs in the top of the eighth inning en route to posting a 7-6 victory at Bridgewater on Tuesday afternoon.

After four scoreless innings, the Generals (18-6, 9-0) broke a 5-5 tie in the eighth frame by scoring a pair of runs with two outs, courtesy of wild pitches by Bridgewater (10-13, 3-5) first-year right-hander Jacob Benfield.  W&L senior first baseman Jonny Swenson (Newnan, Ga. / Newnan) got things started with one out when he recorded an infield single.  Junior second baseman Austin Crane (Darien, Conn. / Fairfield College Prep) earned a walk which chased BC sophomore right-hander Ryan Mason from the game.  Benfield came on and induced a fly ball out, before walking senior left fielder Matt Wasson (Merion Station, Pa. / Lower Merion) to load the bases.  Swenson then scored on a wild pitch and sophomore shortstop Chadwick Feeley (Jacksonville, Fla. / Episcopal School) later walked to once again load the bases.  Benfield then tossed his second wild pitch of the inning, scoring Crane with the eventual winning run.

Sophomore right hander Danny Devereux (Mount Prospect, Ill. / Prospect) earned the win (5-1) after entering the game with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning.  He notched a strikeout to close out the seventh with a runner on third, and pitched the final 2.1 innings of the contest.  The Eagles pushed across one run in the bottom of the eighth and advanced runners to second and third with just one out.  However, Devereux got out of the jam by recording a strikeout and a ground out to first base, and then closed things out in the ninth, to give W&L its fourth one-run win on the season.

The game looked to be a shootout, with 10 runs scored between the two teams across the opening three innings.  The Generals jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first on an RBI triple by Wasson and an RBI ground out by Feeley.  The Eagles responded with three runs in the bottom of the frame on a 3-run home run by senior rightfielder Kenner Berry.

W&L tied the game at 3-3 in the top of the second on a solo home run by senior designated hitter Anderson Baldy (Tampa, Fla. / Berkeley Prep), but the Eagles again had the answer in the bottom half of the inning, scoring runs on an RBI double and an RBI ground out for a 5-3 advantage.

The Generals then knotted the game at 5-5 in the third inning on an RBI single by Cory Paton and a sacrifice fly from Swenson, before the offenses cooled over the next four innings.

Sophomore right-hander Kevin McHugh (Forest Hill, Md. / McDonogh School) started the game, allowing five hits and four earned runs across two innings of work.  He was spelled by junior right-hander Tyler Murphy (Chesapeake, Va. / Greenbrier Christian Academy), who pitched 4.2 innings of scoreless baseball, allowing just one hit before giving way to Devereux.  Devereux tossed 2.1 inning, allowing three hits and one earned run.

At the plate, Baldy led the way with a 2-for-5 performance, including a double and a home run with one RBI.  Wasson went 1-for-3 with a triple, an RBI and a pair of walks.

Mason took the loss (1-1) for Bridgewater, allowing two earned runs in 2.1 innings of work.  Berry led the Eagles' offense, finishing 2-for-2 with a home run, two runs scored and three RBI.

Washington and Lee will look to keep its' win streak going on Saturday when it travels to 10th-ranked Randolph-Macon for a double-header starting at 12:00 pm.

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