LEXINGTON, Va. – Sophomore third baseman Luke Erdmann (Vienna, Va./James Madison) was a centerpiece of the offense and was a defensive stalwart in helping the Washington and Lee baseball team to 7-6 and 11-6 wins over Roanoke on Saturday.
 
In the top of the ninth inning of game one with the Generals (3-7, 3-7 ODAC) ahead by a 7-6 score, the Maroons (11-6, 4-3 ODAC) put their first two runners on base. Senior right-hander Senior right-hander Matt Whitely (Salem, Va./Hidden Valley) then got senior third baseman Cale Agee to hit a ground ball to Erdmann, who fielded to his backhand, stepped on third and fired to first for a double play. Whitely proceeded to get senior catcher Gavin Kandrick to fly out to left to end the game and give the Generals their second win of the season.
 
After the Maroons scored a pair of runs to tie the game, 5-5, in the top of the seventh, the Generals responded immediately with a pair of runs in the bottom half of the inning. Junior first baseman Brian Wickman (Whitehouse Station, N.J./Hunterdon Central Regional) singled in Erdmann, before senior shortstop Jason Volpicelli (Great Falls, Va./Paul VI Catholic) walked with the bases loaded two batters later to put the Generals up 7-5. 
 
Roanoke added their sixth run in the top of the eighth on a sacrifice fly from sophomore shortstop Mason Staz.
 
The Maroons scored the first three runs of the opener, putting two on the board in the first on a single from junior second baseman Conner Butler. Butler then singled in a run in the third inning. Volpicelli got W&L on the board with an RBI single in the bottom of the third, followed by an RBI fielder's choice from Wickman in the fourth. The Generals scored three in the fifth to take their first lead of the game, as Erdmann singled home two runners and sophomore left fielder Zach Perkins (Vienna, Va./James Madison) drove in a run on a single as well.
 
Roanoke scored a run in the top of the first of game two on an RBI ground out from senior first baseman Will Merriken, but the Generals scored twice in the bottom of the second on RBI's from sophomore center fielder Mitchell Salvino (Charlotte, N.C./Charlotte Catholic) and first-year catcher Jaden Keuhner (Aldie, Va./John Champe). 
 
Keuhner jump-started a five-run W&L fourth with an RBI ground out. Erdmann added to his run production on the day with a two-run double to right, and later scored on a wild pitch. Perkins followed Erdmann with an run-scoring single through the left side. 
 
The Maroons got three runs back in the top of the fifth, two on a single from first-year left fielder Jonny Wall, and they scored another two runs in the top of the seventh to cut the Generals' lead to 7-6, but W&L ran away with game two, as it scored two runs in the seventh and eighth innings to cap the day.
 
Erdmann finished the day with five hits, four RBI and three runs scored across the two games to lead the W&L offense. Wickman and Volpicelli drove in two runs in game one, while Volpicelli scored three games in game two and had three hits on the day. Salvino finished game two with two runs and two RBI, and he and Perkins totaled four hits across both games.
 
Whitely (1-1) earned the game one win and senior righty Peyton McCann (Midlothian, Va./James River) (2-1) was the winning pitcher in game two. Whitely tossed 5.2 innings of relief and allowed two earned runs on six hits. McCann also went long out of the bullpen, throwing the final 4.1 innings, allowing two runs on two hits with four strikeouts.
 
Butler finished game one with four hits for the Maroons, while Wall tallied three knocks, scored once and drove in two runs in game two. Sophomore right-hander Austin Bansek (2-1) took the loss in game one as he allowed two runs on four hits in 2.0 innings of relief. Starting sophomore righty Brandon Hill (0-1) was the game two losing pitcher. He surrendered two runs on four hits over the first 3.0 frames. 
 
The Generals will be back in action on Tuesday when they travel to Eastern Mennonite for a 3:00 pm clash with the Royals.