On Wednesday night, the Highlander varsity baseball team took on the St. Albans Bulldogs. St. Albans, one of the best teams in Washington, D.C., was coming off of a six game win streak. They were led by University of Alabama commit Myles Upchurch, who looked to wreak havoc on the Highlanders.
Things looked grim for the Highlanders when senior starting pitcher Christian Dray immediately went down 3-0 in the count on one of the first batters of the day. Miraculously, Dray was able to come all the way back to strike the batter out and get the first out of the inning. Then, with a batter on base, Upchurch stepped up to the plate and hit a little dribbler into right field, allowing a runner on third to be able to score to put the Bulldogs up 1-0.
To start the bottom of the first, outfielder Gabe Pegues got on base with a single. He then advanced all the way to third base, after a wild pickoff attempt by St. Albans’ pitcher. Catcher Ryu Utsunomiya stepped up to plate after this and executed a perfect sac-fly to allow Pegues to score. Shortly after, the Highlanders got two more men on base, and an error from the Bulldogs second basemen made the score 3-1 to end the first.
The second inning went much quicker. Dray pitched three straight strikeouts to put the Highlanders up to bat. After Pegues got on base again, Utsunomiya put the ball on play which allowed Pegues to score making it 4-1 after the second inning.
The third and fourth innings displayed a defensive masterclass from both teams. Dray pitched another three strikeouts to bring his total to eight. The bulldogs responded with three straight outs to move the game into the fourth inning. In the top of the fourth, Dray pitched two more strikeouts, putting him at 10 on the day.
“After dealing with my ankle injury at the beginning of the year, it was great to come out and dominate like that,” Dray said. “[St. Albans’] energy was dying as the game went on and that motivated me even more.”
St. Albans responded once again, forcing three outs, which kept the score at 4-1 going into the fifth. The top of the fifth inning began with a pitching change for the Highlanders. Dray was replaced by junior Dan Ockerman, who looked to continue the pitching dominance for McLean. Ockerman got off to a rocky start, allowing a single on his very first pitch of the game. But it didn’t matter because he was able to bounce back, pitching three straight strikeouts.
Junior second-basemen Reid Turner got things started for the Highlanders in the bottom of the fifth, batting a runner home to extend their lead. Senior Jack Dailey immediately followed this up by scoring a run of his own to make it 6-1 in favor of McLean.
In the sixth inning, Ockerman was replaced with junior JW Riggins. After a long scoring drought, St. Albans was finally able to score a run, making the score 6-2, but Riggins managed to strike out the following two batters, ending the inning. In the bottom of the sixth, with a runner on base, senior Brennan Core stepped up and hit an inside the park home-run, making the score 8-2.
“I saw the ball get down, and I knew I had to keep running,” Core said. “The team knows I have speed now, and it was a great way to rally the team.”
In the top of the seventh, Riggins was subbed out for freshman Alex Inget on the mound. Inget got off to a rocky start, allowing a solo home run, which made the score 8-3. Still, he was able to rebound, pitching back-to-back outs to solidify the victory over St. Albans.
“There was no one guy that won the game for us tonight,” Core said. “Everyone was hitting well, pitching well and got runners on base. It was a really quality win for us tonight.”
In total, the four McLean pitchers combined for 17 strikeouts, an incredibly impressive feat considered the 21 total outs they needed.
“Right when I came out, [the other pitchers] came in and showed out,” Dray said. “Dan did his job, Riggins did his job, and Inget did his job, which really speaks to the strong mentality of our team.”
