Following a hard 11-3 loss to Marshall High School the week prior, the McLean varsity baseball team looked to come back hard for a home game against Wakefield last Tuesday. With D1 University of Richmond commit Christian Dray starting on the mound, the Highlanders aimed to put the Warriors away with exceptional defense.
“When we take care of the baseball on defense, we’re really hard to beat,” head coach John Dowling said. “The [strategy] is always just to collect outs and take care of the baseball. Every time we’re supposed to get an out, just get an out.”
Unfortunately, the Highlanders weren’t initially able to adhere to their strategy as cleanly as they hoped to. Due to an infield error, a walk and a base hit, the Warriors were able to get on the board 1-0 early. However, Dray quickly shut down their tempo with a strikeout and a groundout to send the Highlanders to the plate.
“The walk is what kind of did us in there because it set them up in scoring position with two outs to just kind of bloop something out there and drive in a run,” Dowling said. “But that’s baseball. We didn’t let it bother us.”
McLean quickly clapped back in the bottom of the first inning. D3 University of Lynchburg commit senior Gabe Pegues took a baseball to the arm, which immediately became a source of regret for Wakefield. Pegues, known to be aggressive on the basepath, took bold leads, resulting in 3 pick attempts. Suddenly, Pegues bolted, pairing well with a blazing drive from senior Ryu Johnson, which allowed Pegues to reach third base. With D1 Virginia Tech commit senior Ethan Ball up to bat, a wild pitch followed by a walk loaded the bases.
With no outs, it seemed inevitable that the Highlanders would score, and they certainly did. A hard-hit fly out to left field from senior Aydin Prell allowed Pegues to tag up and tie the game. Unfortunately, a strikeout followed by a groundout ended the rally for McLean.
From there, McLean played well on defense. The second inning saw very little action on both sides of the plate, but the third inning was a little sloppier for the Highlanders. With an out on the board from a flyout to right field, a deep ball bounced out of left fielder junior Ryan Riggins’s glove for a double. A following strikeout gave McLean a breather, but a pickoff attempt at second went wrong, allowing the Warriors to advance their runner to third. Fortunately, what looked like a potential home run during the following at-bat was snagged at the fence by Ryan to save the inning.
In the subsequent half, McLean, now back to the top of its lineup, was able to jump ahead with a sizable lead. A groundout from Pegues started the inning poorly, but a walk drawn by Johnson started things off for the Highlanders. Despite several pickoff attempts, Ball was able to hit a line drive directly center for a single. Shortly after, a second walk, this time for Prell, loaded the bases for the Highlanders for the second time tonight.
This time, McLean capitalized hard. A ground out from junior Reid Turner allowed Pegues to sprint home, and a blooper over Wakefield’s second baseman from senior Brennan Core drove in two extra runs. Finally, a ground out from junior J.W. Riggins ended the tempo for McLean.
“Offensively, we just had some timely hitting,” Pegues said. “We got the job done when we needed to.”
From there, the Highlanders shut away the game. Dray found a one-two-three pitch inning in the fourth and a short half due to strong defensive plays in the 5th. The Warriors, however, also found success on defense, achieving a three-up-three-down inning in the fifth.
“We threw a lot of strikes, and that kind of helped us out throughout the game,” Pegues said. “We played clean defense and didn’t make a lot of mistakes.”
Finally, with neither team gaining any momentum in the latter half of the game, Core swapped onto the mound from first base to close out the game. With a 4-1 lead, a strikeout and a groundout wrapped up the win for the Highlanders.
“We threw Dray and Core through really well,” Dowling said. “Dray was kind of lights-out. They only had one hit, and we took care of the ball on defense. We’ve got really, really good arms on the mound, so when we don’t kick it, we’re gonna be in position to win every night.”
Looking forward, the Highlanders plan to work on tightening up their style and performance in preparation for the postseason.
“I think the only thing we really need to improve on is just consistency,” Pegues said. “Staying consistent throughout the year is the best way that we’re going to improve and the best way that we’re going to win later on in the season.”
