“Last batter,” the home plate umpire called as the clock hit 6:30 p.m. in the Lions’ varsity baseball junior night game against the McLean Mustangs on April 27. Junior and shortstop Noah Sacks then hit a screaming line drive to left field, scoring the Lions’ eighth run of the day and cementing a dominant win thanks to their successful baserunning and dominant pitching throughout.
Freshman Mason Salomon was the starting pitcher for the Lions, and he helped the Lions get off to a good start with two strikeouts in the first inning. When the Lions came to bat in the bottom half, a double from junior and right-fielder Aviv Stein and a Run Batted In (RBI) groundout from junior and catcher Grant Levy allowed them to go up 1-0. Varsity Baseball Head Coach Matthew Landy said that he was proud of how the Lions played on offense at the beginning of the game.
“In the first inning [Stein got a] first pitch fastball [and] hit a double into the outfield, which was a great start,” Landy said. “Then we had guys drive him in … A lot of guys stepped up for us and had some big-time hits.”
The Lions continued with this momentum in the following innings, with a double from junior and left-fielder Judah Trauben and an RBI single from Salomon in the second making the score 2-0. Another single from Salomon resulted in two more runs in the fourth.
Meanwhile, the Mustangs’ bats were being stifled on offense, with Salomon scattering just two hits over the first four innings.
“[Salomon] just had great command of the ball all day,” Levy said. “He was hitting the corners, hitting his spots, and then towards the middle of the game … he starts running curveballs. [The Mustangs] just couldn’t touch it.”
Salomon ran into trouble for the first time in the fifth inning, when the Mustangs loaded the bases with three walks. But thanks to a clutch strikeout and an induced groundout, he was able to escape the inning unscathed.
“I trust in my defense,” Salomon said. “Just being able to get out of the inning and throwing strikes until the end [of the inning] was really big.”
Trauben replaced Salomon on the mound for the sixth inning, and he was able to pitch a clean inning, striking out three consecutive McLean hitters. Trauben was also a large part of the Lions’ continued scoring on offense, as he went 1-1 with two walks, steals and runs scored on the day.
Stolen bases were a large part of the Lions’ aggressiveness in the game. The Lions finished with 12 total steals, including a steal of third base by sophomore and center-fielder Logan Druxman. This steal led to the Mustangs’ catcher overthrowing the base, allowing Druxman to score and putting the Lions ahead 5-0. After third baseman and freshman AJ Salz and Trauben both walked, a single from Salomon made the score 7-0 in favor of the Lions.
“We want to do what we always do, which is be aggressive,” Landy said. “We want to make a play at the plate, hit the ball into all parts of the field, make the other team make a difficult play.”
The Lions might have continued to score in the bottom of the sixth inning, after an RBI double from junior and shortstop Noah Sacks that made the score 8-0, but the game was called after two hours of play at 6:30 p.m.
After the game, junior night festivities were held, with each junior on the team receiving a speech from Landy and a poster. The Lions’ focus then turned towards getting the one-seed in the playoffs that start on May 4.
“Every game matters,” Levy said. “We’re taking nothing for granted, as getting the [first playoff] seed, especially in the PVAC, is a huge advantage for us in the program. We’ve saved the arms … [We just need to] go out there, win out, get the one-seed and go win the championship.”
