VIRGINIA BEACH -- Virginia Wesleyan College's baseball Marlins combined steady defense and offense Saturday to post an 8-4 and 4-3 sweep over Washington and Lee University's Generals.

The Old Dominion Athletic Conference doubleheader, played on Marlins Field, opened with the Marlins taking a 3-0 lead in the second inning of the first game.  Alex Lambert (Virginia Beach/Ocean Lakes), Brett Sutryk (Bath, N.Y./Haverling), and Daniel Cox (Brooklyn, N.Y./Midwood) all singled in the inning for VWC.

Washington and Lee fell 1-2-3 in the first two innings, but added a run in the top of the third when Jonathan Stutts (Charlotte, N.C./Country Day) singled home Alston James (Columbia, S.C./Hammond), who doubled to lead off the inning.

The Generals eventually tied the game at 3-all with a two run fifth, but Virginia Wesleyan reclaimed the lead in the bottom of the inning.  Matt Ittner (Virginia Beach/Frank W. Cox) doubled and scored when Josh Miller (Norfolk, Va./Greenbrier Christian) doubled  him home.

Washington and Lee added a run in the top of the six, but once again VWC answered.  The Marlins tacked on four runs in the bottom of the same inning to pull away.  Sutryk, Cox, and Evan Polk (Chesapeake, Va./Great Bridge) all hit consecutive singles and Billy Crowe (Bath, N.Y./Haverling) drilled a triple, all to lead off the inning.

Washington and Lee fell 1-2-3 in the eighth and managed only a walk in the ninth.

Sutryk led VWC hitting in the first game with three hits.  Cox and Miller added two each. Sutryk enjoyed a standout day at the plate, also producing two hits in the second game.  Anthony Sircausa (Auburn, N.Y./Auburn) also had two hits in the 4-3 win.

Virginia Wesleyan never trailed in the game, taking a 2-0 lead in the third with the help of singles from Crowe and Pike Brynildsen (Alexandria, Va./T.C. Williams).  Washington and Lee cut the score to 2-1 in the fourth, aided by a double from Josh Josephson (Boca Raton, Fla./American Heritage) and singles from Chris Nault (Atlanta, Ga./Riverwood) and C.J. Thompson (Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla./Nease).

Both teams scored a run in the sixth to keep it a one-run game, before VWC produced what turned out to be the winning run in the seventh on an error that put Polk aboard and a Crowe sacrifice. 

Washington and Lee closed with a brief rally as Alex Maragos (Chicago, Ill./Loyola Academy) doubled in the ninth and scored on a Josephson single to cut the VWC lead to 4-3.  But, it all ended there as the VWC defense produced the third out to end the game.

Virginia Wesleyan competes again on Tuesday, April 17, at Newport News Apprentice School in a non-conference game starting at 4 p.m.

--AMDG--