Two days after perhaps their worst loss of the season, the McLean Highlanders showed their fortitude by defeating first place Stone Bridge, 4-1, in a Liberty District baseball game last Friday night in Ashburn.
The win improved McLean’s record to 10-4 overall and 5-3 in district play. For Stone Bridge, the district loss was the first of the season.
Earlier in the week, the Highlanders had gotten beat soundly, 12-2, at district foe and area rival Langley.
McLean coach John Thomas was thrilled with the way his team came back from that disappointing loss to defeat the Bulldogs.
"I was very proud of our kids," said Thomas. "We were very prepared to play that game [against Stone Bridge], and we had great pitching."
McLean’s winning pitcher was sophomore Denis Buckley, who worked four-plus innings in which he allowed one unearned run and four hits while striking out seven.
After Stone Bridge got a couple of base runners on in the bottom of the fifth inning, Thomas went to the bullpen where sophomore Sean Fitzgerald worked out of the jam. The right hander ended up tossing three shutout innings of relief to earn the save.
Thomas credited starter Buckley (3-0) with giving the Highlanders a fine effort.
"He’s young and has very good stuff," said Thomas. "We’re hoping we can see him in that form more often because he has very good stuff. The challenge for Denis is his command."
Offensively in the win over Stone Bridge, McLean had big nights from junior Erik Payne (3-for-3, 2 doubles and an RBI) and senior Quinn Pippin (2-for-3, double, triple, 2 RBI).
Payne and Pippin are McLean’s No. 5 and 6 hitters, respectively, in the batting order. Payne, entering this week, was hitting a team-leading .410 with 14 RBIs, while Pippin was batting .342 with 15 RBIs.
"They’ve been stepping up all year," said Thomas.
Stone Bridge starting pitcher Tyler Basso (5-1) lost his first game of the season.
<b>A FEW DAYS</b> earlier, McLean took it on the chin to Langley in the 12-2 loss. That game got out of hand early as the Saxons built an 8-0 lead in the first inning.
"We never really had a chance," said Thomas. "Our starting pitcher just didn’t have it."
The coach said his team kept playing hard throughout the game even though they never got back into it. He said the team’s seniors, in particular, helped keep the Highlanders focused.
"Our kids did such a good job of competing through the course of the game," said Thomas. "No one hung their heads in those bad circumstances. And we came out and played great on Friday."
This week, McLean was scheduled to play Madison on Tuesday night. On Friday, the Highlanders will be at home against Jefferson.