Highlanders Win Two at Home

On Tuesday, March 27^th, the McLean Highlanders played host to the Bulldogs of Stone Bridge High School.  Though only in their 2^nd year as members in the Liberty District, Stone Bridge had built up an intense rivalry with the Highlanders, as each team took turns winning one-run games at home in 2006 before Stone Bridge eliminated McLean from last year’s Liberty District Tournament by an 8-6 margin.  The Highlanders started ace Drew Morgan on the mound and Stone Bridge countered with Sophomore Nick Fialdini, fresh off an impressive performance against Liberty favorite Madison.

Stone Bridge came out of the gate swinging, and with aid of some defensive miscues by McLean, built a 3-0 lead after the top half of the first inning.  After the Highlanders answered with a run of their own in the bottom of the first, Stone Bridge scored again in the top of the 2^nd to make the lead 4-1.

The Highlanders never panicked, and were soon rewarded for their calm approach under pressure.  Ryan Blackwell lead off the bottom of the third inning for McLean with a solo home run over the left field fence to bring McLean back within two.  McLean continued to scratch and claw offensively until the bottom of the 6^th inning when Andrew Stowe scored from 3^rd base on a wild pitch to knot the score at 4-4.

Meanwhile, Morgan had settled in on the mound for McLean and was absolutely dominant from the 3^rd inning on.  Mixing four pitches, the Senior RHP worked ahead in the count and was able to keep the very good Stone Bridge lineup off-balance for most of the evening.  Morgan pitched nine full innings for the Highlanders, striking out seven while scattering six hits, and most impressively, not walking a single batter.

Neither team gave an inch through nine full innings, as the game remained dead-locked at 4.  In the top half of the 10^th inning, Andrew Stowe took the mound for McLean in relief of Morgan, who was removed from the game due to pitch count.  Stowe was magnificent for the Highlanders, striking out the Bulldogs 2,3, and four hitters in order and needing only 12 pitches in the process.  McLean came to bat in the bottom of the 10^th inning with momentum on their side.

James Pascoe walked after trailing 1-2 in the count to lead off the inning for McLean.  Ryan Blackwell followed with a sacrifice bunt, advancing Pascoe to 2^nd.  Quinn Pippin then grounded out to shortstop, moving Pascoe to 3^rd base with two outs.  After Stone Bridge elected to walk Morgan and Tyler Thompson, McLean’s 3 and 4 hitters, Andrew Stowe came to bat with a chance to win the ballgame.  Stowe fell behind in the count 1-2 before knocking a ground ball through the hole between short and third, scoring Pascoe and winning the game for McLean.

“What an awesome High School baseball game”, McLean coach John Thomas said.  “That was about as good as it gets at this level.  Both teams played extremely hard, and Stone Bridge certainly deserves a lot of credit for being a very tough team.  It’s a war every time we play them.  I think that both teams have a lot of respect for each other and look forward to playing one another, and that makes for a great atmosphere come game time.   For us, it begins and ends with pitching, and obviously both of our Seniors were great tonight.  Drew Morgan executed tremendously after those first two innings, and he pitched about as tough as anybody we’ve had in a while.  Stowe came in and shut down three very good hitters in the crunch, which shows what he is capable of doing at the back end of games.  That was really good to see.  We also got a key hit from him to win the game, which is exactly what we need from him.  All in all, this was a great night for the Highlanders and we’re really happy to be able to come back and beat a good team.”

On Friday, March 29^th, McLean continued it’s homestand against the Colonials of Thomas Jefferson High School.  TJ started left-hander Michael Mensing, while the Highlanders went with Freshman Sean Fitzgerald, who was making his first career Varsity start.

Neither team made much noise offensively until Tyler Thompson plated Ryan Blackwell with an RBI single, making the score 1-0.  The score remained there until the top half of the 5^th inning, when TJ responded with an unearned run.  Andrew Stowe came on with two outs in the 5^th and promptly induced a fly ball out to centerfield, getting McLean out of a jam.

In the top of the 6^th, Tyler Thompson got things started for McLean with a leadoff double down the leftfield line.   After Stowe struck out, Kendall Wilkins came to bat for McLean and scored Thompson with a double to right-center.  Denis Buckley then reached on an error for McLean, and James Pascoe followed with a 2 RBI single up the middle.  The Highlanders tacked on an additional insurance run to make the score 5-1 after six complete innings.  Andrew Stowe pitched a perfect 7^th to end the ballgame and notch his 2^nd win of the week.

The victory over Jefferson brought McLean’s overall record to 3-2, and improved their mark in the Liberty District to 2-2.  “I am proud of the effort that our guys put forth this week”, McLean coach John Thomas said.  “We are going to go through our ups and downs this year, but the one thing that has to be consistent every day is the effort that we give and the toughness that we play with.  We have to be relentless in those areas.  That’s the path to being the team we want to be in May.”