While the name on the front of the jersey’s matched, the colors induced an age-old rivalry. Beginning on Tuesday Oct. 21, McLean Baseball began their annual intrasquad “Battle for the Bagpipe” series. With seniors acting as coaches and captains, they strategically drafted their respective teams made of juniors and underclassment, before playing it out on the diamond, pitted against one another in a three game series.
“Our players love competing against one another, most of them have known each other since Little League” Head Coach John Dowling said. “We spend the entire spring competing together as one team. Going head-to-head against your usual teammates creates a pretty special environment.”
Game 1 was ruled by Black team seniors Charlie Erlanger and JW Riggins. Erlanger, who was the starting pitcher in Game 1, racked up six strikeouts in just two innings pitched. Riggins then followed him up with five strikeouts in the third and fourth inning, combining for 11 of their first 12 outs via the strikeout.
“It felt really good to be back on the McLean mound,” Erlanger said. “Being able to set the tone for the game in the first few innings really ignited our team, the offense was able to feed off the defensive success.”
The Red team brought the tying run to the plate in the top of the sixth inning, but a shutdown performance from newcomer freshman Devrim Prell, who closed the game out for the Black Team, taking home Game 1 with a score of 7-5.
“The [Game 1] win was a team effort,” Prell said. “We were able to come up in key moments to pull out the victory. I was happy to help contribute to the team in any way possible.”
Something needed to change if the Red Team wanted to keep their Bagpipe championship hopes alive. A spirited pep talk from senior Dan Ockerman prior to the start of Game 2 ignited a new fire in his team, one that had yet to be seen in this series.
“I told our guys before the game that this game was for all the marbles,” Ockerman said. “I think it really fueled our team, it made them realize the much higher stakes in that we needed a win to stay alive.”
After a solid one-run inning from senior southpaw Colin Tomasulo to open the game, the Red team offense exploded in the bottom of the first, plating eight runs in the first inning before head coach John Dowling called for a mercy rule.
The Red team never looked back after their thunderous first inning, taking advantage of Black team’s defensive mistakes for the rest of the contest. The game was eventually called due to mercy rule after just three innings of play, with Red earning a dominant 15-4 win to even the series.
“I thought our players did a great job of putting together quality plate appearances against their top pitchers,” Ockerman said. “We had a new confidence and a new attitude in Game 2, one that we felt wasn’t unlocked until today.”
Game 3 had been unprecedented territory for all players and senior coaches in the series, with the last time a winner-take-all Bagpipes Game 3 occurred was prior to any current student beginning their time at McLean.
“It’s pretty cool to finally have a Game 3 in my final year at McLean,” said Erlanger. “It’s just going to add to the competition and how badly we want to take home the bagpipe; I’m ready for it.”
Tomasulo again got the nod to start Game 3 for Red, but sloppy defense from his fielders lead to an early 1-0 lead for Black in the top of the first. Junior Jean-Lloyd Prouty, who was originally scheduled to start Game 2 but was pushed back to Game 3, took to the mound for Black Team in the winner-take-all matchup. Lloyd also surrendered a single run in the opening frame, with a score of 1-1 after the first. Though the contest had only just begun, the game looked to be a battle for the ages.
“We just have to keep our priorities straight if we want to bring home the bagpipe,” said Riggins. “As long as we handle the ball cleanly and keep putting the ball in play, we should have a shot at bringing [the bagpipe] home.
A continuous issue for Black Team in the series: crucial defensive mistakes. Errors in left field and third base with runners in scoring position allowed three runs to score, before Lloyd was pulled for junior Constantine Kofinis. Kofinis induced a bases-loaded walk to put the Red team up 5-1 after the top of the second before the 4-rule mercy rule was enacted. Though no earned runs were charged to either Lloyd or Kofinis, the damage had already been done.
“I thought our defense could have been a lot better in Games 2 and 3,” Riggins said. “A lot of dropped balls and miscommunication better fielders lead to a lot of runs, our mistakes got the best of us.”
The game reached the point of no return after the top of the third, with Red plating another four runs to go up 9-1. Though Black team scored 2 runs in the bottom of the fourth, their outs left to work began to dwindle.
In an attempt to close out the game, Freshman Left-Handed Pitcher Dylan Baldrate trotted out the mound to seal the comeback victory for Red, his second pitching appearance in the past two days. An incredible, superman-esque diving catch by Sophomore Stone Bakewell appeared to seal Black Team’s fate to collect the second out in the top of the 5th. Baldrate then induced a popout to the second baseman to finish the job, being mobbed by his fellow teammates and senior coaches to celebrate the win.
“It was a great time, Baldrate said. “All the senior captains made it really enjoyable, they were always hyping me up. Also pitching well throughout the series with the Red Team cheering me on felt really good.”
Baldrate and Tomosulo were named series Co-MVP’s, combining for eight brilliant innings of pitching. With the 2025 edition of Battle for the Bagpipe now in the books, the two teams quickly dissolved to return together as one McLean High School Baseball squad, all with the same mentality heading into the offseason.
“We’re going to be in the weightroom as much as possible,” Dowling said. ““Now is the time to get bigger, faster, and stronger before the real games begin.”
