ASHLAND, Va. – The Washington and Lee baseball team split its ODAC doubleheader against 14th-ranked Randolph-Macon on Saturday, which featured an 8-3 win in game two and a 15-1 loss in game one.
Trailing 1-0 in the top of the second of the second game, the Generals (11-4, 5-2 ODAC) took the lead with a three-run second inning. Following a leadoff double by senior center fielder
Mitchell Salvino (Charlotte, N.C./Charlotte Catholic), junior second baseman
Jacob Jackson (Norfolk, Va./Maury) hit a two-run home run to left field to give the Generals a 2-1 lead. Sophomore designated hitter
Jack Belbot (Baltimore, Md./Loyola Blakefield) then extended the lead in the frame with an RBI single to score first-year third baseman
Nick Lagges (Chicago, Ill./Lane Tech).
Randolph-Macon (13-3, 3-1 ODAC) tied the game after putting up a single run in both the third and fourth to even the score at three apiece. Both sophomore second baseman Aaron Lautenschlager and junior first baseman Miles Webb knocked in a run in the innings.
The game remained at 3-3 until the top of the eighth where W&L took back the lead. Back-to-back walks for Salvino and junior first baseman
Drew Larsen (Glen Allen, Va./Deep Run) set up the Generals for a big inning. A sac fly by junior shortstop
Ethan Zulueta (Matthews, N.C./Weddington) put the Blue and White back on top. Lagges followed it up with a single to drive in Larsen.
Senior left fielder
Zach Perkins (Vienna, Va./James Madison) led off the ninth with a solo shot to right field, giving W&L a three-run cushion. After both Salvino and Larsen reached safely, Zulueta singled up the middle driving in both of the runners and extending the lead to five.
Sophomore pitcher
John Benner (McLean, Va./St. Albans) (4-1) earned the win after throwing his second eight-inning game in a row. Benner ended game two with six punchouts and allowed two earned runs in the outing. Sophomore pitcher
Evan Blair (Vienna, Va./James Madison) closed the game for the Generals allowing no runs and no hits.
In the opener, the Yellow Jackets pushed five runs across in both the second and fifth innings. The second inning saw the five runs scored on five hits and an error, with six hits driving in the five runs in the fifth. The Generals got their run in the top of the fifth on an RBI ground out from sophomore
Campbell Charneco (Clifton, Va. / Centreville), but R-MC tacked on the final two runs of the game in the eighth.
W&L finished the day with 20 hits spread throughout the team. Every starter recorded a hit in the game-two win, while Perkins finished the game going 3-for-5 including the solo homerun. Zulueta and Lagges also had multi-hit performances and combined for four runs batted in.
Randolph-Macon sophomore pitcher Bere Bauers (1-2) received the game-two loss after 1.1 innings pitched, allowing two runs on two hits and two walks. Senior pitcher Hayden Snelsire earned the game-one win after seven innings pitched, allowing one run on five hits with 10 strikeouts.
Leading the way for the Yellow Jackets was Chaz Harvey and Lautenschlager who went 3-for-4 with two runs batted and 2-for-3 with five RBI, respectively, in game one. First-year designated hitter Carter Schmitt added a 3-for-5 performance in game two.
The Generals will be back in action on Monday when they begin their 11-game home stand with a doubleheader against Trinity College (Conn.). Both games have been designated as seven-inning contests, with game one getting underway at 4:00 pm.
