ROCKY MOUNT, Va. – Trailing by a 1-0 series score, the Washington and Lee baseball team came up short in game two of the ODAC Championship Opening Series against Roanoke on Sunday, falling by a score of 4-1.
Down by what ended as the final score, the Generals (18-17) mustered one final rally attempt in the eighth. A pair of one-out singles by senior center fielder
Mitchell Salvino (Charlotte, N.C./Charlotte Catholic) and senior left fielder
Zach Perkins (Vienna, Va./James Madison) put the tying run at the plate. Following a strikeout, junior first baseman
Drew Larsen (Glen Allen, Va./Deep Run) walked to load the bases, but Roanoke escaped one batter later on a fielder's choice.
The Maroons jumped on the board early, starting the game with a pair of walks from senior right fielder Jacob Bonzon and senior third baseman Mason Staz. Junior shortstop Jonny Wall then singled through the left side to put Bonzon on third, followed by a sac fly off the bat of senior second baseman Conner Butler. Roanoke then added its remaining runs on a two-run home run in the third by Butler and a run-scoring error in the fourth.
W&L was held scoreless on just two hits through the first six innings while the Maroons pushed four runs across. The sole run for the Generals came in the seventh inning on a single to right from junior shortstop
Ethan Zulueta (Matthews, N.C./Weddington). Zulueta had been set up for the RBI chance following a wild pitch on a third strike to junior second baseman
Jacob Jackson (Norfolk, Va./Maury) and a single to right from Larsen.
Larsen had a sharp day at the plate going 3-for-3 and reaching base four times in the game. Salvino, Perkins and Zulueta all ended the game with a hit, with Zulueta tacking on a run batted in.
Roanoke finished the game with eight hits coming from six different Maroons. Wall led the way, going 3-for-5 with a run scored. Butler had three of the four runs batted in and went 1-for-3 with the two-run homer and a first-inning sac fly.
Sophomore pitcher
Evan Blair (Vienna, Va./James Madison) (3-1) received his first loss of the season after pitching four frames and allowing four runs (three earned) on four hits and five punchouts. Sophomore pitcher
Andrew Flood (Manhasset, N.Y./Manhasset Secondary School) pitched the rest of the game for the Generals and left the Maroons scoreless through his five innings pitched.
Maroons' sophomore pitcher Jackson Murphy (5-1) started the game on the mound and pitched through seven innings. During his outing, he allowed just one run on four hits and struck out 10 batters. Senior pitcher Owen Ledford (S, 2) pitched the final 1.1 innings to earn the save, including a three-strikeout ninth inning.
This concludes the Washington and Lee baseball team's 2023 season. The Generals finish with an overall record of 18-17.
