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W&L PITCHING STYMIES TIGER BATS AS H-SC FALLS, 6-1 Tigers drop first game of ODAC tourney, will face Va. Wesleyan for berth in final
Box Score The Generals (21-13) advance to the championship game tomorrow afternoon at 4 pm where they will face the survivor of the Hampden-Sydney/Virginia Wesleyan match up set for 1 pm on Sunday. The Tigers (20-18) were the last remaining unbeaten in the tournament and could have locked up a title date with the Marlins with a win over Washington and Lee, but Davidson, who was pitching on one days rest after throwing about 80 pitches against Lynchburg on Thursday afternoon, shut down the Hampden-Sydney offense with a brilliant mix of fastballs and sliders on the outer edge. Hampden-Sydney had pounded out 27 hits in its first two contests of the tournament, but mustered just two hits in the first seven innings of action against the Generals' starter. Meanwhile, the Washington and Lee offense strung together several base hits in the third and sixth innings to tally three and two runs, respectively, and build a 5-0 lead. The Tigers threatened to mount a late rally in the bottom of the eighth as Nick Price (Sterling, VA/West Potomac) and Herbie Williams (Danville, VA/George Washington) hit back-to-back one out singles. A.J. Prill (Midlothian, VA/James River) followed with a hit to center field, but Generals' centerfielder Terrence Mckelvey gunned down Price at home to maintain the 5-0 advantage. Although Williams ultimately scored one batter later on a mishandled, two-out ground ball to first from Zach Harrelson (Danville, VA/George Washington), Davidson worked out of potential added trouble by fanning Matt Brown (Chester, VA/L.C. Bird) to end the inning. The Generals answered with a run in the top of the ninth and Brendan Clark closed out the gem by striking out the side in the Tigers' half of the ninth. Williams and Prill went 2-for-4 for Hampden-Sydney, which totaled just seven hits on the night. The one run was the lowest output by the Tigers all season with their previous low coming in a 5-2 loss to North Carolina Wesleyan. Mike Blanchard (Roanoke, VA/Roanoke Catholic) pitched well, but took the loss in just 5.1 innings of work. He struck out four Generals and threw 76 pitches. Cleanup batter Hunter Serenbetz paced Washington and Lee with a 3-for-5 outing that included one RBI. Anthony Cardona and C.J. Thompson drove in two runs apiece for the Generals, who eliminated third-seeded Randolph-Macon earlier in the day on a ninth inning, two-run homer. www.hsc.edu/athletics- |