On Thursday May 28, the McLean Highlander baseball team faced the Oakton Cougars in the first round of the regional tournament.
“We wanted to win by any means necessary and play the game with the highest level of intensity until the final out,” junior pitcher Jean Lloyd said.
Senior pitcher JW Riggins took the mound to start the game for McLean, immediately settling in with a strikeout. Although Riggins started hot, Oakton managed to start off hot by putting runners on base early. The Cougars eventually pushed across two runs before Riggins ended their turn at bat with another strikeout.
In the bottom of the inning, junior hitter Kyle Peterson led off and was walked. Riggins was walked as well and stole two bases to get into position to score. Sophomore catcher Carter Jones delivered a ground ball into left field, bringing Riggins home, and cutting Oakton’s lead to 2-1 entering the second inning.
The Highlander and Oakton defense stayed strong throughout the next two innings getting strikeouts and fielding plays against the opposing offense, keeping the game close.
The Cougars broke open the game in the fourth inning getting hit after hit, eventually leading 5-1. The Highlanders immediately fought back with its strongest offensive inning of the game, scoring two runs, and decreasing the deficit to 3-5.
“A big part of baseball is staying level-headed even when things aren’t going your way,” Jones said. “When we saw that we were losing, some guys on the team started a huddle and made sure that everyone just focused on what they can control, like effort and composure.”
Senior hitter Daniel Ockerman reached base after being hit with a pitch, while Wormington followed with a walk. Senior outfielder Ryan Riggins then delivered a base hit, loading the bases before McLean scored a run.
Oakton regained their momentum at the start of the fifth inning. The Cougars leveraged on walks and defensive errors to score five runs and widen the difference in the score, making it 11-3. Although the Highlanders managed to stop an attempted steal at home plate, they could not recover.
The sixth inning was quick and made McLean lose via the mercy rule finishing the game 13-3 and ending the Highlanders season in heartbreak.
“We got really unlucky with Oakton’s hitting,” sophomore pitcher Alex Inget said. “They were able to hit the ball to places where we weren’t positioned, and they were able to take full advantage of that on the bases.”
