The McLean High baseball team lost to Stone Bridge, 2-0, in a Liberty District tournament semifinals game played last Friday night at Madison High School in Vienna.
The Highlanders’ season is still alive however, as they prepare for the start of this week’s 16-team Northern Region playoffs.
McLean (15-7), coached by John Thomas, entered the eight-team district tournament as the No. 4 seed. In its first game, the Highlanders defeated No. 5 W.T. Woodson, 11-5. That set up last Friday’s meeting against top seeded Stone Bridge.
The Bulldogs received a strong outing from starting pitcher Tyler Basso, who allowed three hits over six shutout innings of work to garner the decision. Basso struck out 10 and walked four. Stone Bridge reliever Mike Palmer pitched the final inning in the game.
McLean starting pitcher Denis Buckley tossed an outstanding game, although he took the hard-luck loss. Buckley allowed two runs and five hits over six innings. He struggled with his control, walking seven batters, and struck out two. Defensively, McLean had no errors.
Stone Bridge scored a single run in the bottom of the first inning, and later added another run in the fifth. That was all of the game’s scoring.
McLean finished with four hits on the night. Highlander DH Brett Bleiweis knocked a double for McLean, while teammates Erik Payne, David Roffman and Kendall Wilkins each had singles.
During the regular season, Buckley and McLean had beaten Stone Bridge, 4-1, in a game on April 18. Buckley earned the win that day, while Basso took the loss.
Basso recently earned District Pitcher of the Year honors, while Buckley earned First Team honors.
Stone Bridge, following the playoff win over McLean, went on to capture the tournament title when it defeated Madison, 10-0, this past Monday night at Langley High School. Ty Weaver (8-0) was the winning pitcher, holding the defending district champion Warhawks to just a single.