VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – Senior pitchers
Carson McKoon (Chattanooga, Tenn./McCallie School) and
Tom Kellogg (San Antonio, Texas/Saint Mary's Hall) combined to strike out 15 Virginia Wesleyan hitters in the Washington and Lee baseball team's 5-2 road ODAC victory on Saturday afternoon.
The win improves the Generals to 8-1 overall and 2-0 in the ODAC, while the Marlins drop to 3-7 overall and 0-2 in league play.
First-year center fielder
Mitchell Salvino (Charlotte, N.C./Charlotte Catholic) got the Generals on the board first with an RBI double in the top of the second. The Marlins were quick to counter, however, with a run on a fielder's choice in the bottom of the frame.
Junior shortstop
Jason Volpicelli (Great Falls, Va./Paul VI Catholic) helped W&L regain the lead with a run-scoring single up the middle in the top of the fifth. That margin held up until the top of the eighth inning when sophomore designated hitter
Jackson Gazin (Reisterstown, Md./Boys' Latin) hit a sacrifice fly to extend the lead to 3-1.
A lead-off home run for Virginia Wesleyan in the bottom of eighth pulled the Marlins back to within one run, but the Generals added two insurance runs in the top of the ninth to pull away for good.
Salvino and sophomore first baseman
Brian Wickman (Whitehouse Station, N.J./Hunterdon Central Regional) both notched two hits in the game and each drove in a run. First-year left fielder
Zach Perkins (Vienna, Va./James Madison) also added two hits and scored once.
McKoon (2-0) held the Marlins' offense in check over six innings of work, allowing just one run on three hits with two walks and a career-high tying nine strikeouts. Kellogg earned his first career save, as he worked the final three innings and allowed one run on one hit with two walks and six strikeouts.
The 15 strikeouts between the senior pitching duo marked the most in a single game for W&L pitchers since a 15-strikeout performance in a 5-2 win over Lynchburg on March 24, 2018.
Virginia Wesleyan senior shortstop Austin Obenour highlighted the offensive output for the Marlins with a solo home run to lead off the eighth inning. Senior Andrew Lowe (1-2) took the loss after he allowed two runs over the first 5.1 innings. Senior Jay Crusemire pitched the final 3.2 innings and allowed three unearned runs.
The Generals will return to the diamond on Tuesday when they host Southern Virginia for a 4:00 pm matchup.
