Article Text

McLean’s varsity baseball team answered an earlier loss to Langley with a 17-7 home victory March 26, ending the rematch in the fifth inning under the mercy rule.

“We definitely felt like we didn’t play to our full potential on Tuesday,” senior left-handed pitcher J.W. Riggins said.

Riggins opened the game on the mound for the Highlanders, striking out the first batter he faced. Langley followed with a single, but McLean quickly erased the threat by turning a double play.

McLean’s first two batters struck out in the bottom half of the inning. J.W. Riggins then reached second on a Langley fielding error, but senior outfielder Ryan Riggins struck out after a long at-bat to end the inning.

Langley scored the game’s first run in the top of the second before McLean responded with a big inning. The Highlanders loaded the bases, and sophomore Carter Jones drove in a run with a line drive. Junior Caius Antolik added another on a sacrifice fly.

Junior Adam Wormington followed with a line drive that brought home two more runners. He later scored on a wild pitch as McLean seized the lead.

Langley fought back in the third. A walk and consecutive doubles produced two runs, and a sacrifice fly brought home another before a strikeout ended the top half.

McLean’s offense then surged again. Senior Dan Ockerman reached on an error, Jones singled and senior catcher Reid Turner doubled to bring in a run. Turner scored when J.W. Riggins hit the ball into right field.

J.W. Riggins stole second and came home on a single by Ryan Riggins. Ryan Riggins then stole two bases and scored on a wild pitch, extending McLean’s advantage.

“The team was really happy with the hitting in the third,” junior pitcher Jean-Lloyd Prouty said. “It’s a testament to our hard work in practice.”

Senior Nathan Tsitsibelis replaced J.W. Riggins on the mound in the fourth. After allowing a single, Tsitsibelis recorded three quick outs.

Jones led off the bottom of the fourth with a home run. Langley walked freshman Dev Prell, and junior Justin Ball doubled to move him to third. McLean added another run before a double play ended the inning.

Langley mounted another push in the fifth, using a double and McLean fielding mistakes to pull within six runs. The Highlanders turned to senior Colin Tomasulo, who immediately recorded a strikeout to stop the rally.

J.W. Riggins began the bottom of the fifth with a hit and stole second. Jones then drove him home with another hit, triggering the mercy rule and giving McLean the 17-7 win.

“The whole team played well, and we were able to get the win,” Prouty said. “If we play to our potential every game, we will be unstoppable.”

McLean next heads into a spring break tournament featuring four games in one week.

“We have a lot of tough games ahead of us,” J.W. Riggins said, “but we know we are good enough to win all of them.”