WINCHESTER, Va. – The Washington and Lee baseball team fell by a 14-5 score on the road against No. 19 Shenandoah on Wednesday afternoon.
 
With the game tied at five runs apiece heading to the bottom of the fifth inning, Shenandoah (6-1, 3-0 ODAC) sophomore third baseman Pearce Bucher hit a two-run home run to left to break the tie. The Hornets then broke the game open with five runs on three hits in the bottom of the sixth. Sophomore shortstop Frankie Ritter highlighted the frame with a two-run double, while Bucher and senior right fielder Grant Thompson produced RBI base hits as well.
 
Shenandoah concluded the scoring in the bottom of the eighth when first-year left fielder Haden Madagan hit a two-run home run.
 
The Hornets opened the game by putting three runs on the board in the bottom of the first, courtesy of a three-run home run off the bat of sophomore designated hitter Anthony Ward. The Generals (1-4, 1-4 ODAC) responded quickly with three runs of their own in the top of the second. Senior catcher Jack Giardino (Charlotte, N.C./Providence Day School) and sophomore third baseman Luke Erdmann (Vienna, Va./James Madison) had run-scoring hits to tie the game.
 
W&L took a 4-3 lead in the top of the third when sophomore left fielder Zach Perkins (Vienna, Va./James Madison) stole second and subsequently scored on a pair of Shenandoah errors on the play. First-year second baseman Colby Martin then put the Hornets back ahead, 5-4, in the bottom of the fourth on a two-run home run, before W&L junior first baseman Brian Wickman (Whitehouse Station, N.J./Hunterdon Central Regional) singled in a run in top of the fifth to tie the ball game, 5-5.
 
Erdmann, Giardino and Perkins all logged multi-hit games. Erdmann scored once and drove in a run, Giardino had one RBI and Perkins scored twice. Senior right-hander Matt Whitely (Salem, Va./Hidden Valley) (0-1) relieved starter John Raymond (Frenchtown, N.J./Delaware Valley Regional) after one inning and allowed four runs (three earned) on three hits with five strikeouts while taking the loss. First-year righty Ashwin Suresh (Glen Allen, Va./Douglas S. Freeman) logged a scoreless 1.2 innings with two strikeouts in the sixth and seventh innings.
 
Bucher finished with three hits, three runs and three RBI to lead the Shenandoah offense. Martin and Ward tallied two hits each and combined for five RBI and four runs scored. First-year right-hander Reilly Owen (1-0) was the winning pitcher, as he tossed five shutout innings of relief. He surrendered just five hits and struck out five in relief of starter Michael Prosperi.
 
The Generals will return to the field on Saturday when they host Lynchburg in an ODAC doubleheader beginning at 12:00 pm.