On Tuesday, April 25^th, the Highlanders played host to the Warhawks of Madison High School. Madison came to McLean Baseball Field carrying a #1 ranking in the state of Virginia, a #2 ranking in the DC Metropolitan area by The Washington Post, and a #23 national ranking by USA Today. Madison had left-hander Jason Farley starting on the mound. Farley boasted a 6-0 record and an unheard of ERA of 0.00. McLean countered with veteran senior Danny Bell, who entered the game with a deceiving record of 3-3, but also carried with him valuable experience pitching in many big games for the Highlanders. McLean stood at 4-4 in the Liberty District and was locked in a four-way tie for second place.

Bell retired the Warhawks in order in the top half of the first inning, striking out two Madison batters. Kyle Meagher led off the bottom of the first for McLean by stroking Farley’s first pitch of the game for a single to center field. After Meagher stole second, Bird Sweeny dumped a two strike pitch into right field, sending Meagher to third. Sweeny then stole second and Frankie Cavanaugh reached first base on a ground ball to shortstop, scoring Meagher. Shane Mills then scored Sweeny with a sacrifice fly to center field. Tyler Thompson came to bat next, and the junior right fielder smacked a 1-0 fastball over the fence in right center field, giving the Highlanders a 4-0 lead against Madison’s ace. "Tyler really got a hold of that pitch", McLean coach John Thomas said. "He is probably the most talented hitter in our program, and he has been swinging the bat really well for us all year. To hit a big home run off of a pitcher of Farley’s caliber really says a lot about Tyler’s ability as a hitter and a run producer."

Danny Bell pitched ahead in the count all day against Madison’s tough lineup and made some huge pitches in the clutch for the Highlanders. Bell twice escaped tough situations in which the Warhawks put runners at second and third base. "Danny Bell did a tremendous job for us tonight", Coach Thomas said. "Madison does not have an easy out in their lineup, and their hitters do a great job of battling off tough pitches and pouncing on mistakes. Danny has a ton of experience pitching in big games for us, and he knew he had to do an excellent job of locating his pitches, as well as work ahead in the count. He had a lot of pop back on his fastball tonight, and he kept the ball down for the most part. He gave us one hell of a gutsy effort tonight."

In the fifth inning, Madison put runners on first and second with only one out, and McLean went to senior closer Shane Mills. Joey Hayes laid down a perfect bunt down the third base line to load the bases for the Warhawks with only one out, but Mills dug in and struck out the next two Madison hitters to leave the bases loaded and get McLean out of the inning.

McLean threatened only once the rest of the game off of Farley, who settled down after the first inning and shut the Highlanders down the rest of the way. "Farley is a monster", Coach Thomas said. "You just don’t post an ERA of 0.00 after six starts unless you are pretty special. He is a great pitcher and maybe an even better competitor. He proved that tonight by really digging in and keeping his composure after our big first inning. A lot of high school pitchers would fold after that, but he showed what type of player he is."

Fortunately for the Highlanders, Shane Mills was up to the task of preserving the lead, as he struck out a total of six Madison hitters over the games final 2 2/3 innings to secure the 4-2 upset for McLean. "Shane has done an amazing job for us all year", Coach Thomas said. "Tonight, he took it to another level. Getting out of the jam in the fifth inning was huge. Nine times out of ten, Madison is going to get those runners in. Shane just was not going to allow it to happen tonight."

Pitching and stellar defense won the game for the Highlanders, but McLean’s hitters also stepped up in beating Jason Farley, one of the best pitchers in the state of Virginia. Kyle Meagher was 1-2 with two stolen bases and a run scored. Bird Sweeny was 1-3 with a run and a stolen base. Frankie Cavanaugh went 1-3 with an RBI and a run. Mike McCollough went 1-3 and also was tremendous behind the plate for McLean, throwing out University of Virginia signee Mark Riffee trying to steal second base in the sixth inning. Drew Morgan was 1-3, and Thompson provided the Highlander’s biggest hit of the night with his first inning home run.

"Tonight’s win was a total team effort", Coach Thomas said. "You don’t beat Madison without getting contributions from a lot of different guys. Our senior pitchers stepped up big time tonight, but we don’t get it done without that first inning, when our four seniors at the top of the lineup all got us going and then Tyler got into one. Our defense was solid all night and the guys in the dugout provided us with a ton of energy for seven innings. Our kids truly earned this win tonight, and it’s a big win for Highlander baseball."

On Friday, April 28^th, McLean wrapped up their three game home stand with a match up against the Bulldogs of Stone Bridge High School. Stone Bridge entered the game tied for second place with the Highlanders in the Liberty District standings. The pitching match up featured McLean’s Frankie Cavanaugh and Stone Bridge’s Ryan Shugars, who had beaten McLean earlier in the season. "We knew coming into tonight’s game that we had our work cut out for us with Shugars on the mound", Coach Thomas said.

The Bulldogs struck first in the top of the first inning as right fielder Jaron Gouveia led off the game with a base hit and eventually scored on a wild pitch by Cavanaugh. Cavanaugh struggled mightily in the first, allowing two Stone Bridge hits and walking an additional two hitters. McLean tied the score at 1-1 in the bottom half of the second inning when Drew Morgan dropped a two out single into right field, scoring Tyler Thompson.

The score remained at 1-1 until McLean came to bat in the bottom of the third inning. Senior designated hitter Danny Bell got things going for the Highlanders with a base hit to right field. Catcher Mike McCollough next coaxed a walk from Shugars in a very nice at-bat. Kyle Meagher then doubled to left center, scoring Bell and advancing McCollough to third base. Bird Sweeny then produced an infield hit to score courtesy runner Sammy Kaiser. Shugars was able to work out of the jam after that, but the Highlanders led 3-1.

In the top of the fourth, Stone Bridge notched another run off Cavanaugh, but the senior left hander worked his way out of another tough spot with the help of centerfielder Kyle Meagher, who made a spectacular grab in deep center field to rob Mike Stancik of at least a double. The catch also preserved the lead for McLean, as two Bulldog baserunners who surely would have scored were left on base. "Kyle Meagher made a hell of a clutch play for us out in center", Coach Thomas said. "That was a senior stepping up out there, and it probably won the game for us."

Shane Mills came on with nobody out and a runner on 2^nd base for McLean in the fifth inning, and promptly induced a pop up, strikeout, and ground out to end the inning. Stone Bridge never threatened again as Mills slammed the door and sealed a 3-2 win for the Highlanders.

"This was another very big win for us", said Coach Thomas. "We were obviously coming off of a huge win on Tuesday, but there was no letdown at all. Our guys did a great job of preserving our focus, and we needed every bit of it against a good team like Stone Bridge who had their ace on the mound. I thought Kyle’s catch in the fourth inning was the play of the game for us. If he doesn’t come up with that ball, we’re down 4-3. Frankie didn’t have his best performance tonight, but he came up with clutch pitches when it mattered most, just like he’s done all year long. He really battled for four innings and was determined to get the ball to Shane. This was a really nice win for us to get at home, and we need to be ready to keep taking care of business next week against a couple of teams who played us really tough the first time around."