NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – The Washington and Lee baseball team fell in 10 innings by a score of 9-8 against Christopher Newport on Tuesday evening on the road.
The Captains (22-10) scored the game-winning run with two outs in the bottom of the 10th when junior third baseman Brayden Hodges reached on an error, allowing sophomore right fielder Scott Crosson to score and end the game.
The contest moved to extra innings after the Generals (14-14) tied things up with a two-run ninth. Senior first baseman
Brian Wickman (Whitehouse Station, N.J. / Hunterdon Central Regional) reached on an error by the right fielder, allowing junior
Zach Perkins (Vienna, Va. / James Madison) to score, while Wickman advanced to second on the play. Sophomore catcher
Jaden Keuhner (Aldie, Va. / John Champe) then tied the score with a single through the right side of the infield to score Wickman.
The Generals had built up a 6-1 lead through the top of the fifth after a four-run fifth. Wickman extended W&L's lead to 3-1 with an RBI single to left, before sophomore shortstop
Ethan Zulueta (Matthews, N.C. / Weddington) and junior right fielder
John Raymond (Frenchtown, N.J. / Delaware Valley Regional) also had run-scoring knocks.
Christopher Newport responded by matching W&L with a four-run bottom of the fifth to get back within a run. The runs scored on a pair of two-run home runs off the bats of junior third baseman Justin Bowers and junior left fielder Alec Reilly. The Captains then scored two runs in the seventh and one run in the eighth to regain an 8-6 lead before the Generals' two-run ninth.
Zulueta recorded a team-high three hits, including a double, and he drove in one run and scored once. Keuhner, Perkins, junior center fielder
Mitchell Salvino (Charlotte, N.C. / Charlotte Catholic) and junior left fielder
Jamie Abt (Rye, N.Y. / Rye) all notched two hits in the contest, while Wickman drove in two and scored twice.
Perkins also started on the mound and received a no decision after he tossed five innings and allowed four earned runs on seven hits. First-year
Campbell Charneco (Clifton, Va. / Centreville) (0-1) made his first collegiate pitching appearance, and he allowed one unearned run while covering the final 1.2 innings.
Bowers went 2-for-3 with a home run, three RBI, two runs and two walks to lead the CNU offense. Reilly also went 2-for-5 at the plate, and senior designated hitter Michael Martorano contributed two hits in four at-bats with two RBI and a run scored. Junior Danny Checkosky (2-0) was credited with the win after pitching a scoreless 10th inning with one hit allowed and two strikeouts.
The Generals will be back in action on Thursday when they host Mary Baldwin at 6:00 pm.
