BRIDGEWATER, Va. - Bridgewater College junior
Jake Wade belted a walk-off double to centerfield with one out in
the bottom of the 10th inning to lift the Eagles to a 4-3 ODAC
victory over the Washington and Lee Generals.
W&L relief pitcher Gregg Laswell hit Mitchell Edwards with
the first pitch of the bottom of the 10th and Andy Chrismer
followed with a bunt single to put two runners on. Laswell caught
Eagles' third baseman Brett Howell looking at a third strike to
bring Wade to the plate.
Wade, who entered the game as a defensive replacement in the
eighth, hit a 1-2 fastball to the base of the fence in dead center
to score Edwards with the winning run.
Wade's hit made a winner of senior righthander Drew Elkins who
pitched a complete game gem for the Eagles. Elkins allowed just
eight hits and two earned runs in 10 innings on the hill He
struck out six and did not walk a batter.
The Generals got on the board first with a run in the top of the
fifth. Alston James doubled to lead off the frame and moved to
third on a single by Jonathan Stutts. After Stutts was picked off
first by BC catcher Devon Snow, James scored on a groundout by C.J.
Thompson for a 1-0 W&L lead.
The visitors added another run in the sixth to lead 2-0. Mike
Decembrino led off with a single and moved to third on a single by
Will Lewis. Decembrino raced home on an errant throw from the
outfield on the play.
The Eagles finally got to W&L starter Roger Strong in the
bottom of the sixth. Edwards led off the inning with a single and,
with one out, Howell stroked a long homer to right center, tying
the score at 2-2.
W&L regained the lead in the eighth when Lewis lined a homer
to right that was barely high enough to clear the fence. putting
the Generals on top 3-2.
The Eagles answered in the bottom of the inning when Chrismer
led off with a single and stole second. With one out, freshman Andy
Hacker laced a double to the right center gap to knot the game at
3-3.
Both teams went down in order in the ninth and Elkins retired
the Generals in order in the 10th, setting the stage for BC's
game-winning rally in the bottom of the 10th.
The Eagles finished the contest with 12 hits, with Edwards,
Chrismer, Howell, Snow and Drew Easter contributing two hits each.
Lewis and Stutts had two hits apiece to lead W&L's eight-hit
attack.
With the victory, the Eagles maintained their grip on
first-place in the ODAC standings. The Eagles, now 9-2 in the ODAC,
improved to 13-12 overall. W&L dropped to 10-12 overall and 6-6
in the conference.
