McLean Continues Hot Run to Beat W&L

Tuesday evening saw Washington & Lee (Arlington) take on District rival McLean in the final game of both teams' 2019 regular season. McLean has been on a tear down the stretch, and that continued in this game as the Highlanders jumped out with a five-run third inning and ultimately won the game 9-2. 

McLean sent junior righty Teddy Merritt to the mound for the start and W&L countered with senior lefty Will Carlson. Both pitchers put up zeroes in the first two inning, each working a very quick perfect first inning and each of them working around some trouble in the second.

W&L got on the board first in the top of the third, with sophomore Jacob Arrowsmith leading the inning off with a single down the rightfield line. Carlson drew a walk bringing up the number nine spot in the order in senior Isaac Bendon. Bendon tried to sacrifice and couldn't get it down, but he delivered a 2-strike RBI single to right to put the Generals on the board. Merritt got a strikeout and then a slick double play from shortstop Tio Graybill to end the inning.

In the bottom of the third, a leadoff walk and an errant pickoff throw put a runner in scoring position with no outs for the Highlanders. A Merritt groundout sent the runner to third, and McLean tied the game when freshman Griffin Stieg (Virginia Tech) doubled to left center. After his brother Drew Stieg singled to left, Jackson Kantor singled to left-center driving in a run and giving the Highlanders a 2-1 lead. McLean would continue the rally and ultimately score five runs in the inning to take a 5-1 lead after three innings.

The score stayed the same through the fourth and McLean added another run in the fifth to push the lead to 6-1. In the sixth W&L finally started to get to Merritt. A leadoff walk to Hunter Spicer was followed two batters later by a double down the rightfield line by Sam Nichols, ending Merritt's evening and putting two in scoring position. Highlander reliever Zavyor Zenk got an RBI groundout and a strikeout to end the inning and preserve McLean's 6-2 lead.

In the bottom of the sixth, the Highlanders put the game away with a rally that began with a 2-out, no runners on single off of third base by Drew Stieg, and ultimately led to three more McLean runs. Griffin Stieg worked a scoreless seventh and McLean won, 9-2.

For McLean, Merritt was the winning pitcher going 5.1 IP, 2 R, 4 H, 4 BB, 5 K. Drew Stieg was 2-4. Kantor was 3-4 with a 2B and an RBI. Anthony Farmakides was 2-4. Anthony Luu was 3-4 with 3 RBIs and Andrew Liao was 2-3 with an RBI.

For W&L, Nichols was 2-3 with a 2B. Arrowsmith was 1-2 with a BB. Bendon was 1-1 with 2 BBs and an RBI.