Photo by DigitalSports Photos

On Monday, April 10^th, the Highlanders continued play in the 2006 Spring Break Classic against the Washington & Lee Generals. The game was a rematch of McLean’s first scrimmage of the season, which the Highlanders won handily at home. The game proved to be a feast or famine affair for McLean, who stuck out 13 times but also had 10 hits en route to an 8-3 victory. "We knew going in that W & L would be much improved from when we last saw them", McLean coach John Thomas said. "They are young, but they are very well coached. Coach Grove always does a great job." Starting pitcher Andrew Stowe notched his first win of the 2006 season, and the first win of his Varsity career. Stowe allowed only one hit over five innings, and stuck out seven General batters while allowing just one walk. "Andrew threw the ball very well today", Coach Thomas said. "We thought going in that if he worked ahead in the count, he would have a lot of success. That is exactly what he did."

Monday’s contest also marked the first time in the 2006 season in which every Highlander entered the game. Kendall Wilkins made his Varsity debut on the mound, closing out the game by pitching the final two innings. "Kendall was probably a little nervous in his first inning out there", said Coach Thomas. "He did an excellent job making an adjustment after that and working the ball down in the strike zone." Also for the Highlanders, David Roffman doubled in his first ever Varsity at bat in the 7^th inning, Pat Tawil earned a walk during a very nice first Varsity plate appearance, and JP Zabel and Eric Fitzgerald entered into a Varsity game for the first time, both pinch running in the seventh inning. "We are very fortunate to have a roster full of really good kids who are also really good teammates", Coach Thomas said. "Our guys all know and accept their roles, and they all support each other really well. This win against W & L was special for everyone because literally every player on the roster contributed to our success on the field. These guys who haven’t played a whole lot always find a way to contribute by being great teammates, working hard in practice, and being extremely vocal and supportive in the dugout. Having guys who make themselves so valuable in those ways is huge for our team and our program."

The Highlanders were back at it again the following day at South Lakes against the Stallions from South County High School. For the first time all year, McLean was beaten soundly, as South County slugged their way to an 11-3 win. "South County hit the ball unbelievably well", Coach Thomas said. "They out-hit us, out-pitched us, and out-coached us. We’ve just got to tip our caps to them and move on." Tyler Thompson’s first inning triple knocked in two runs for McLean and marked the Highlanders only bright spot of the afternoon offensively.

McLean’s pitchers gave up 16 hits to the red-hot Stallions on the afternoon. However, the silver lining for the Highlanders was the performance of Eric Fitzgerald and JP Zabel, who both pitched very well in their first Varsity appearances. Fitzgerald allowed no runs in one inning of work that included a strikeout, and Zabel came on to retire the final two Stallion hitters. Zabel also earned his first Varsity strikeout, getting a Stallion pinch-hitter looking on an excellent breaking ball. "Eric and JP are working very hard to develop themselves into Varsity pitchers", Coach Thomas said. "It’s nice to see both of them come on and do a good job for us in a game situation."

Postponements caused by rainy weather over the previous weekend forced the Highlanders to play a double header on Wednesday, April 12^th. In the morning, McLean took on the Yorktown Patriots in their earliest game in years (9:30 AM). The game lasted only one hour and forty-five minutes, as the Highlanders cruised to a 6-2 win. Tyler Thompson made his Varsity debut on the pitcher’s mound for the Highlanders, and did a very good job against a Yorktown squad that entered the game having won three in a row. Thompson went 3 2/3 innings on the hill, striking out four, walking two, and allowing 5 hits. "Tyler did a great job for us this morning", Coach Thomas said. "Although he had not pitched for us yet this year, he knows that he is a valuable member of our pitching staff, and he has worked very hard in practice to improve his command. Today, he gave us exactly what we needed. He threw strikes, kept them off balance, and pitched aggressively."

Danny Bell took over for Thompson with two outs in the fourth inning, Patriot base runners on first and third, and McLean leading 3-2. Bell had struggled mightily the previous afternoon against South County, enduring his first and only rough start of the season. Despite the difficult circumstances, Bell rose to the occasion and struck out the Patriot batter in 3 pitches to get the Highlanders out of the jam. He finished the game for McLean, pitching a perfect 3 1/3 innings and striking out four for his third win of the year. "Danny Bell was back to his usual self today", said Coach Thomas. "He deserves a ton of credit for coming back a day after having a tough outing against South County and doing such a great job against Yorktown. His team needed him today, and he stepped up in a really tough situation and led us to this win."

Offensively, the Highlanders were led by first baseman Shane Mills, who went 2-2 with two doubles and an RBI before being intentionally walked in his final two plate appearances. Tyler Thompson went 2-3 with two doubles and RBI, and Quinn Pippin was 1-2 with a walk, stolen base, and a run scored. James Pascoe also entered the game three times as a courtesy runner and stole three bases while scoring a run.

The afternoon match up pitted McLean against the Atoms of Annandale High School. Annandale entered the game with a record of 6-4, including wins over South County and Stone Bridge, two schools who had beaten the Highlanders. The pitching match up featured Frankie Cavanaugh for McLean against Annandale ace Tyler Wolverton. "We knew coming into this game that Annandale would be a tough team", Coach Thomas said. "They have been playing very well and they have beaten some very good teams."

McLean did not wait long to get the offense going, as they produced a three run first inning by way of some outstanding hitting and aggressive base running. "I thought we did an excellent job of setting the tone early on the base paths", Coach Thomas said. "We wanted to establish an aggressive tone early in the ballgame, and the guys at the top of our order did a great job of executing our game plan."

The Highlanders did not look back after the strong start, and slugged their way to a 13-3 victory in a game that was halted after five innings because of the mercy rule. McLean set team season-highs in runs, RBI, hits, and stolen bases. Offensive standouts included Kyle Meagher (2-3, RBI, 3 runs, 4 stolen bases), Bird Sweeny (2-3, 3 runs, 2 stolen bases), Frankie Cavanaugh, (2-3, 3 RBI, stolen base), Shane Mills (2-4, 2 RBI), Tyler Thompson (2-3, 2 RBI, 2 runs), Andrew Stowe (3-3, 3 doubles, 3 RBI), and Mike McCollough (2-3, triple, run). "Our bats really came alive today", Coach Thomas said. "We were able to get great production from every spot in our lineup".

On the mound, Eric Fitzgerald entered the game with one out in the fourth inning of a 9-3 game and pitched a scoreless inning and two thirds for his first Varsity win.

McLean finished the 2006 Spring Break Classic with a 4-1 record, which raised their overall record to 8-3. "Overall, I thought our guys played pretty well in this tournament", said Coach Thomas. "This was a good opportunity for us to step outside our District and play some important games against other schools in the Northern Region. We also called on everybody to step up and contribute at one time or another. I thought that every guy on our roster contributed to our 4-1 record, and I like the way our team is playing together and supporting each other at all times."