Reston — For the second time this season, the South Lakes Seahawks baseball team battled the Langley Saxons (9-7 record) but came up just short in a 5-3 loss. The Liberty District game took place last Friday night, April 27 at Langley.
Despite knocking out eight hits, the Seahawks (4-11) couldn’t get enough timely hits to pull this one out. It was a gritty effort by Seahawks pitcher Billy McLaughlin, who pitched a complete game. Offensively, South Lakes was led by Ryan Forrest, who had three hits, including a double to lead off the game. Unfortunately for the Seahawks, they couldn’t move him around as they ended the inning leaving a runner in scoring position - the first of six for the night.
After falling behind 3-0 in the first inning, South Lakes broke through with an RBI single by McLaughlin in the third inning. The Seahawks’ defense kept the game close – thanks to a diving catch by Hayden Hall at the wall in left field, and a leaping grab of a line drive by second baseman Matt Wojciechowski.
After the Saxons tacked on another run in the fifth to take a 4-1 lead, the Seahawks responded with two runs in the sixth inning. The inning started with a leadoff double off the left field wall by Kyle King, who eventually scored on an errant throw by the pitcher. Austin Gibbons’ RBI groundout got South Lakes back within one run.
After an insurance run by Langley in the bottom of the sixth inning, the Seahawks had two men reach base in the top of the seventh but stranded them to end the game.
EARLIER LAST WEEK, South Lakes defeated the Thomas Jefferson Colonials, 9-5, on Tuesday, April 24 in a district road game. The Seahawks got off to a fast start on a two-run home run by freshman Kyle King, his second homer in as many games.
Junior pitcher Bobby Rae Allen worked around two first inning hits by the Colonials (2-11), thanks to a double play started and completed by senior third baseman Austin Schweppe and a caught-stealing throw by freshman catcher Jared Abelson. Allen pitched four solid innings and helped his own cause by picking off two runners at first base.
The Seahawks scored in each of the first six innings and took a 4-2 lead in the third inning on an RBI single by Schweppe that scored sophomore JoJo Lear.
South Lakes extended the lead to 6-3 in the fourth inning thanks to doubles by Austin Gibbons and Ryan Forrest and an RBI by Lear. Allen gave up two earned runs in four innings and was relieved by Lear in the fifth inning. After the first two Colonials reached base, catcher Abelson picked off the runner straying too far from second base to halt the rally.
The Seahawks tacked on two more runs in the fifth inning, thanks to a two-run RBI double by Allen. In the seventh inning, South Lakes brought in senior Billy McLaughlin to preserve the win for Allen and the Seahawks.