LEXINGTON, Va. — Six Washington and Lee pitchers combined to throw a three-hit shutout, as the W&L baseball team defeated Southern Virginia, 3-0, on Thursday at Cap'n Dick Smith Field.

Junior Tyler Murphy (Chesapeake, Va./Greenbrier Christian Academy) started the game and allowed two hits in 2.0 innings. He registered three strikeouts to improve to 1-0 on the season. Junior David Van Geluwe (Virginia Beach, Va./Frank W. Cox) was next out of the pen and struck out one batter in 2.0 innings. First-year Jackson Thigpen (Potomac, Md./St. John's College) followed with 1.2 innings of scoreless relief.

Sophomore Andrew Earvolino (Wilmette, Ill./New Trier) notched a strikeout against the only batter he faced, and then junior Brian Morgan (Kennesaw, Ga./Allatoona) closed out the game by throwing the final 3.0 innings. He struck out four of the nine hitters he saw to register his first save of the year.

The Generals (8-5) scored all three of their runs in the opening frame. Junior center fielder Kyle Ruedisili (Jupiter, Fla./The Benjamin School) singled to start the inning. With one out, sophomore shortstop Chadwick Feeley (Jacksonville, Fla./Episcopal School) was hit by a pitch in the leg to put runners on first and second.

Senior third baseman Ryan Weston (Rolling Hills Estates, Calif./Palos Verdes Peninsula) followed with a fielder's choice, as Feeley was forced out at second. Weston then stole second to put runners at second and third with two outs.

First-year right fielder Ryan Monson (Frisco, Texas/Wakeland) came through with a clutch hit, as he singled through the right side to plate both Rudisili and Weston. After Monson stole second, Paton pushed the score to 3-0 on a single to the hole between first and second.

The Knights' (6-13) best scoring opportunities came in the third and sixth innings. SVU had a runner at third with one out in the third, but Van Geluwe forced a ground out and a pop out to escape the jam. In the sixth, the Knights had runners at the corners with two outs. Earvolino was brought into the game, and the junior struck out junior pinch hitter Austen Hammond to end the threat.

The Blue and White totaled 10 hits in the game, but stranded six runners. Paton and senior left fielder Matt Wasson (Merion Station, Pa./Lower Merion) led the team with three hits apiece.

The Generals open ODAC play on Saturday, when they host Hampden-Sydney for a doubleheader starting at 1:00 pm.

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