KANNAPOLIS, N.C. – The Washington and Lee baseball scored twice in the eighth to cut the deficit to one, but the Generals fell to a score of 7-5 to Piedmont Thursday night.
Trailing 6-3 in the top of the eighth, the Generals (3-1) were down to their final six outs. A combination of base hits gave the Blue and White some late-game hope. Junior third baseman
Zach Senders (Potomac, Md./Bullis School) began the inning with a leadoff single. After back-to-back punchouts by the Lions, senior center fielder
Mitchell Salvino (Charlotte, N.C./Charlotte Catholic) was hit-by-pitch to bring the tying run to the plate. Senior left fielder
Zach Perkins (Vienna, Va./James Madison) then sent a base hit to drive in Senders to cut the lead to two. Sophomore catcher
Campbell Charneco (Clifton, Va./Centreville) followed suit with a single of his own to bring in Salvino and moved the tying run 90 feet closer. The Generals' momentum was then stopped with a strikeout to get Piedmont out of the jam.
W&L wasted no time getting on the board with Perkins starting his day with a one-out triple, later driven in by Campbell to give the Generals an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning. The Lions (6-1) quickly answered in the bottom half with a pair of runs of their own starting with a lead-off single by sophomore left fielder Cole Ellis. A triple by sophomore third baseman Kyle Carlson, followed by a single by sophomore catcher Tyler Nelson, allowed the Lions to take back the lead.
The Generals managed one run in the fifth on an RBI single by Charneco, but similar to the first inning, Piedmont was quick to answer with two of their own. Senior second baseman Kolton Hicks gave the Lions the lead with a single and with two outs and a man on second, senior shortstop Nathan Mix knocked in Carlson to stretch the lead to two.
Leading the Generals' offense was junior second baseman
Jacob Jackson (Norfolk, Va./Maury). Jackson went 3-for-4 with a walk and one run scores. Salvino, Perkins, and Charneco all had a pair of hits of their own combining for four runs batted in and three runs scored.
Piedmont managed 12 hits on the day compared to the Generals' 13. Leading the way for the Lions was Ellis who ended his night going 3-for-4 and one run scored. Nelson, Hicks, and senior first baseman James Whitmer tallied two hits each on the day and racked up three runs batted in between the three.
Sophomore pitcher
Jimmy Horvath (Harrison, N.Y./Harrison) (0-1) made his first start on the season. After 4.1 innings of work, Horvath finished with six punchouts and four runs allowed (three earned). Relieving him was senior reliever
Derek Hughes (Raleigh, N.C./Ravenscroft School), who started strong striking out his first batter. After pitching the final 3.2 innings of the game, Hughes concluded his night with four strikeouts and just one walk.
Sophomore pitcher Bodie Eilertson (2-0) earned the win for the Lions after 5.2 on the mound. The lefty allowed two runs on eight hits with four strikeouts and two walks. Three relievers came in to close out the game for Piedmont. Sophomore Braden Simms, junior Justin Manus, and graduate Carter Ballstadt (S, 1) combined for three runs on five hits and six strikeouts. Ballstadt earned the save, his first of the season.
The Generals continue their journey in the D3 Showcase in Kannapolis, N.C., at Atrium Health Ballpark, on Saturday against Marrieta 8:00 p.m.
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