By Jensynn Hartzell
Sports Editor
The season-opener for the Washington College baseball team took place over a long-weekend in Fayetteville, N.C. The Shoremen played the Messiah College Falcons on Saturday, Feb. 19.
In the first inning, freshman Cael Magill scored off of a double from sophomore Danny Sheeler. Magill hit home again in the second inning, as did senior Chris Baker off of senior Joe Curtin. This left the Shoremen winning 3–0 entering the third.
The Falcons didn’t score until the bottom of the fourth, but the Shoremen continued touching the home plate. The score was 5–1, WC, at the start of the fifth inning.
The remaining game saw the Falcons score seven consecutive points. The Shoremen lost, 8–5.
On Sunday, Feb. 20, the Shoremen geared up to play the Knights from Arcadia College.
The first five innings saw the teams go back and forth and tie at 5–5. In the bottom of the sixth, the Shoremen were able to score three points, giving them the lead at 8–5.
Curtin scored Magill once again, senior CJ Gillmer scored Sheeler and Baker on a fielding error.
The two teams once again went back and forth, both scoring in the remaining innings, but the Shoremen were ultimately bested at 10–9.
The final game of the Shoremen’s opening weekend was played against the Methodist College Monarchs.
The high-scoring game kicked off with three points from the Shoremen in the top of the first, but the Monarchs answered with four points in the bottom of the first.
In the bottom of the second, the Monarchs widened their lead with three more runs, leaving the Shoremen behind, 7–3.
The Shoremen were able to cut the Monarch’s lead to 7–5 in the top of the fourth, but the bottom of the fifth saw them extend their lead to 11–5.
Yet, in the top of the seventh, the Shoremen scored 11 consecutive runs on nine hits to steal the lead back at 16–11.
The Shoremen kept the lead for the remainder of the competition, ending at 18–14.
The three games set the Shoremen’s record at 1–2 for the start of their 2022 season. They will play next at Mary Washington College for another tournament against Mary Washington, Arcadia, and Stevenson University. The tournament will take place through Feb. 25-27.