LEXINGTON, Va. – The Washington and Lee baseball team kept their bats hot in an 8-2 game one win, but were cooled off by Hampden-Sydney in an 8-1 game two loss on Saturday afternoon in ODAC action.

A pair of W&L (11-13, 5-8 ODAC) runs in the bottom of the first inning were the first marks on the scoreboard in game one, as sophomore third baseman Jason Volpicelli (Great Falls, Va./Paul VI Catholic) drove in senior shortstop Chadwick Feeley (Jacksonville, Fla./Episcopal School) on an RBI ground out. Later in the inning, senior left fielder Matthew Jones (Henrico, Va./Mills E. Godwin) scored from third after a snap throw from the catcher went wild.

After an RBI single through the left side from junior catcher Bryce Burnette (Hurt, Va./Gretna) gave the Generals a 3-0 lead through three innings, the Tigers tacked on their first run of the game in the next half inning on single up the middle from junior second baseman Chase Counts.

Senior second baseman Ben Decembrino (Yardley, Pa./Holy Ghost Prep) put W&L back up by three runs with an RBI double in the bottom of the fourth, and the score remained 4-1 in favor of the Generals until a four-run eighth inning sealed the game for the Blue and White.

Sophomore center fielder Matt Whitely (Salem, Va./Hidden Valley) drove in a run in the eighth with an RBI double, before a two-run single from first-year designated hitter Jackson Gazin (Reisterstown, Md./The Boys Latin School of Md.) put W&L up 7-1. Jones capped the four-run outburst with an RBI single through the left side with two outs.

The final Hampden-Sydney run came with two outs in the top of the ninth when sophomore third baseman Ryan Clawson homered to left field.

In game two, the Tigers got on the board first in the top of the second inning on a pair of bases loaded walks. Their lead increased to three runs in the fourth inning when sophomore catcher Matt Dalton scored on a wild pitch. 

The Generals looked to stage a comeback with a run in the bottom of the fifth inning when sophomore catcher Jack Giardino (Charlotte, N.C./Providence Day School) hit a sacrifice fly to right field, scoring senior first baseman Zach Loewenberg (Baltimore Md./Friends School of Baltimore). 

But that was as close as the Tigers allowed, as Hampden-Sydney went on to score five runs in the top of the seventh inning to put the game away. Run-scoring singles from junior right fielder Andrew Kasiski, junior center fielder Josh Diumstra and junior left fielder Jacob Bartlett highlighted the inning.

Burnette and Gazin led the charge in game one with three hits apiece, while every hitter in the lineup tallied at least one hit. Burnette and Gazin combined for three runs scored and three RBI in the contest. Loewenberg notched a pair of hits in the second game, both doubles to the opposite field, and scored once in both games.

Junior starting pitcher Carson McKoon (Chattanooga, Tenn./McCallie School) (4-3) earned the game one win for the Generals, allowing just one run on eight hits in six innings of work. He also allowed just one walk and struck out six in the start. Senior closer Danny Devereux (Mount Prospect, Ill./Prospect) relieved McKoon with no outs and a man on first in the seventh inning, but worked out of trouble and finished the game to earn his third save of the season.

The lone hit Devereux surrendered in his appearance was the ninth-inning home run to Clawson, but he limited the Tigers to just one walk over his three innings of work, while he struck out two batters.

The Generals used eight pitchers in game two. Senior Kevin McHugh (Forest Hill, Md./McDonogh School) (0-2) started but took the loss after allowing two runs on one hit and three walks, while pitching into the second inning. Junior Tom Kellogg (San Antonio, Texas/Saint Mary's Hall) came in next and recorded two outs, before sophomore Nate Cohen (Atlanta, Ga./North Springs) covered the next 3.1 innings, allowing just one run on two hits with a pair of strikeouts.

The Tigers tagged senior Jack Boyce (Armonk, N.Y./Iona Prep) for three runs in one inning of work and then got to sophomore lefty Chase Fleming (Pennington, N.J./Princeton Day School) for two more runs. Three more pitchers came out of the bullpen to work the final three innings, as the trio allowed no runs on four hits with two strikeouts.

Hampden-Sydney senior first baseman Tyler Blevins notched two hits in both games to lead the Tigers' offense, while junior designated hitter Matt Spagnolo logged two hits in game one and Kasiski had three base knocks in game two. Clawson drove in one run in both games and the Tigers had seven other hitters drive in one run between the two games.

Junior Chase Mayberry (2-2) took the loss as the game one starter, allowing four runs (two earned), on eight hits with three walks and seven strikeouts. The Generals did most of their damage against first-year reliever Ethan Badin, who gave up four runs on five hits in 0.2 innings. 

First-year Trenton Tiller (4-0) tossed a complete game in game two to earn the win. He allowed one run and scattered five hits, while walking one and striking out four.

The Generals will return to action on Wednesday when they host Shenandoah in a 4:00 pm ODAC matchup.

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