LEXINGTON, Va. – Four Washington and Lee pitchers combined on a one-hitter Wednesday afternoon as the Generals blanked Bridgewater College, 13-0, in ODAC baseball action.
The Generals came within one pitch of finishing with a no-hitter as Bridgewater outfielder Darren Yoder lined a single up the middle with two outs in the top of the ninth on a 3-2 pitch off Generals reliever Cory Smith.
W&L nicked Eagles starter Chad Lenz for a run in the bottom of the second to take the lead. Riley Stout led off with a single, but was erased at second on Drew Weprinsky's fielder's choice grounder for the first out of the inning. Ryan Weston followed with a triple to the gap in left center to give the Generals a 1-0 lead.
The Generals took command in the third with six more runs, all unearned. Luke Myer reached on an infield error to start the inning and, after Kyle Ruedisill was retired on a fly ball, stole second. Taylor Rowe plated Myer with a single up the middle, giving W&L a 2-0 lead. Rowe moved to second on a wild pitch and infield single by Stout put runners at first and second. Rowe advanced to third on Weprinsky's fly out to center, putting runners on the corners with two outs. Weston chased Rowe home with a single, making the score 3-0. Jarrett Horton replaced Lenz on the mound and Andrew Head greeted the Eagles reliever with a run-scoring single for a 4-0 Generals lead. Jonny Swenson's infield hit loaded the bases. Another Eagles error allowed W&L's fifth run to score before a two-run single by Myer pushed the lead to 7-0.
The early lead was more than enough for the W&L staff as the four pitchers stymied the Eagles offense. The quartet combined for just two strikeouts but induced the BC batters to hit into 18 ground-ball outs. The Generals defense was solid, committing just one error in the game.
Tom Concklin worked the first two innings before giving the ball to Drew Shott. Shott worked the next four innings and was credited with the win. Andrew Lamb worked the seventh and eighth and Smith finished up.
The Eagles are now 13-5-1 overall and 4-5 in the ODAC. W&L moves to 6-5, 4-3 in the conference.