With a heavy windchill sweeping through the area on Monday night, the Highlanders took the field at Marshall to play the Statesmen in McLean’s first district game of the season. Coming off a 4-0 loss to Gonzaga on March 12, the Highlanders knew they had to step up at the plate to be effective against a strong Marshall team.

“[We have to] play clean and make the most out of each at bat and just take what the game gives us,” junior center fielder Gabe Pegues said.

In the first inning, McLean made an early statement. Loading the bases and scoring two runs off a pair of sacrifice flies, the Highlanders capped off the top of the first by walking in a third run all before McLean’s starting pitcher senior Jack Nance even took the mound.

Players on both teams took measures to stay warm throughout the game, the most noticeable being the runs from the dugouts to the foul poles between innings. Nance, however, did not seem affected by the cold, holding Marshall to two runs through nearly four full innings pitched.

Nance was taken out in the bottom of the fourth with the score 3-2 and a runner on second. His reliever junior Christian Dray only conceded one run, which tied the game, and managed to strand baserunners, keeping damage to a minimum.

The game didn’t stay tied for long: Pegues started the top of the fifth with a leadoff double to left field, and junior second baseman Ethan Ball reached first on an error, with Pegues advancing to third. Ball then stole second, putting him in scoring position. Senior right fielder Yuta Shimo then hit an RBI double, scoring Pegues. The exclamation point on the fifth inning rally was junior first baseman Brennan Core’s bases-clearing double, which made the score 6-3.

By the bottom of the fifth, the temperature adjusted for windchill was at 30 F. Undeterred by the cold, Dray pitched a key scoreless inning, bringing the Highlanders six outs from victory over the Statesmen.

Marshall’s pitching prevented the Highlanders from dealing further damage in the sixth inning, but the Statesmen still failed to put a significant chip in McLean’s three-run lead in the bottom of the sixth, scoring a single run off Dray’s reliever junior Alex Gonzalez.

The seventh — and final inning in high school baseball — got off to a strong start for the Highlanders, with Ball drawing a walk and Shimo reaching on a fielder’s choice. A pair of walks from Core and senior shortstop Ryan Soong loaded the bases. However, a fly out ended the rally, keeping the score 6-4.

The Statesmen put up a good fight in the bottom of the seventh, putting runners on second and third. Despite umpires missing two blatant strike calls that would have ended the game, eliciting audible complaints from McLean’s dugout and parent section, Gonzalez managed to pitch himself out of the jam. The Highlanders won the game 6-4.

“We all played well together,” junior third baseman Aydin Prell said. “Everyone came with a lot of energy and pushed the team to win.”