LEXINGTON, Va. – Sophomore left-hander
Thomas Haller (Round Hill, Va. / Woodgrove) struck out a program-record 17 batters in a complete-game win, as the Washington and Lee baseball team split its Saturday doubleheader against Guilford, with a 7-1 loss in game one and a 12-2 win in game two.
Haller (3-3) led W&L (11-13, 6-8 ODAC) in game two with a complete game, and his 17 strikeouts broke the previous single-game record of 15 set by Steve Momorella in 1991. He faced the minimum number of batters through three innings, and struck out five batters in a row from the second to the third.
The only two runs Haller allowed came in the fourth inning a double from junior catcher Colin Smith and a single from junior first baseman Isaiah Hairston. Haller finished the game with five hits allowed and just two walks. He also became the first pitcher to record double-digit strikeouts in a game since Andrew Shott '15 struck out 11 on March 19, 2013.
Offensively, W&L put four runs on the board in the first inning on three singles, including a two-run knock from junior center fielder
Mitchell Salvino (Charlotte, N.C. / Charlotte Catholic). W&L added two runs in the bottom of the third on an infield single by sophomore shortstop
Zach Senders (Potomac, Md. / Bullis School) and an error on the play.
After the two Guilford runs in the fourth made it a 6-2 game, the Generals scored five in the bottom of the sixth, which included a three-run double down the right-field line by Salvino. Senior second baseman
Chapin Bassi (Concord, N.H. / St. Paul's School) added the final W&L run in the bottom of the eighth with a solo home run.
Guilford (6-15, 1-8 ODAC) sophomore right-hander Jackson Marcellus (2-4) tossed a complete game in the day's opener to lead the Quakers to their 7-1 win. Marcellus allowed the one run on just three hits with no walks and three strikeouts. W&L scored its run in the second inning on a single to right from sophomore catcher
Jaden Keuhner (Aldie, Va. / John Champe).
Hairston tied the game with a solo home run in the top of the fourth, before a two-run single from sophomore shortstop Michael Sumner gave Guilford a 3-1 lead after the top of the fourth. Sumner scored the team's fourth run on a wild pitch in the seventh, and he went on to drive in two more runs on a single in the top of the eighth.
Salvino finished game two going 2-for-5 with five RBI, while senior first baseman
Brian Wickman (Whitehouse Station, N.J. / Hunterdon Central Regional) went 3-for-5 with three runs and a run driven in. Junior left fielder
Zach Perkins (Vienna, Va. / James Madison) and first-year catcher
Campbell Charneco (Clifton, Va. / Centreville) each recorded two hits and scored twice, and Bassi notched two hits and scored three times.
W&L's pitcher of record in game one was first-year
Jimmy Horvath (Harrison, N.Y. / Harrison) (1-2), who tossed seven innings and allowed four runs on eight hits with one walk and seven strikeouts.
Hairston recorded four hits on the day, including three in game one, and he drove in two runs and scored once. Sumner matched Hairston with four hits across the two games, with a 3-for-4, four-RBI performance in the opener.
Guilford's pitcher of record in game two was sophomore Logan Dodson (0-2), who allowed six runs (two earned) on nine hits in a three-inning start.
The Generals will return to action on Tuesday when they host Bridgewater at 6:00 pm.
