Baseball Concludes Season In ODAC Opening Series

BRIDGEWATER, Va. - The Washington and Lee Universtiy saw their 2026 campaign come to a close on Saturday afternoon in the 2026 Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) Opening Series at No. 9 Bridgewater College. The Blue and White forced a winner-take-all third game with a 6-2 win in game two before falling in game three 10-6.

HOW IT HAPPENED – GAME 1 (W, 6-2):

• The Generals (21-14-1) came into Sunday down 0-1 in the series after falling in 12 innings on Saturday afternoon. With their backs against the wall in game two, the Generals opened the scoring right away as they plated four runs on three hits in the opening frame.

• Alex Caywood and Jackson Rogish both drew one-out walks before Nick Caywood drove in his brother with a single up the middle to give W&L a 1-0 lead. Two pitches later, Andrew Thornton drove in Rogish with a ground-rule double to left field before Camdyn Teague drove in the Generals' third run with a sacrifice fly. Ian Weber wore a pitch to put a pair on before John Turner roped a double down the left field line, driving in Thornton to give the visitors a 4-0 lead.

• In the second inning, the Blue and White extended their lead to five as Nathan DeWitte beat out an infield single before A. Caywood reached on an error. N. Caywood drove in DeWitte as he singled to right field to give W&L a 5-0 lead.

• The Eagles (32-11) scored their two runs of the game in the bottom of the third as Jakson Walter and Zack Chadwell drew walks before moving into scoring position on a passed ball. Chandler Valbak drove in Walter after poking a single to left field. Chadwell crossed the plate the next at-bat as Bransen Hensley grounded into a fielder's choice.

• After scoreless fifth and sixth innings, the Generals plated the final run of the game as Ryan McGovern, A. Caywood, and Jackson Rogish all drew walks to load the bases. McGovern scored the next at-bat as N. Caywood grounded into a fielder's choice, giving W&L a 6-2 lead.

• Senior Brody Pasieka secured the win for the Blue and White and earned the save after pitching four shutout innings, allowing five hits while striking out a pair. The win forced a third and final game in the opening series.

HOW IT HAPPENED – GAME 2 (L, 6-10):

• After a scoreless first inning, the Eagles plated five runs on five hits in the second to break the game open early. Bryce Suters, Trent Holland, and TJ Johnson recorded three straight singles to load the bases. Ashton Smith drove in a pair as he singled to left field, putting BC up 2-0. A passed ball and a hit by pitch loaded the bases again before Walter drove in Johnson with a sacrifice fly to drive in the third run of the game. Chadwell drew a five-pitch walk before Valbak singled down the left field line, driving in Stavros and Smith to give Bridgewater a 5-0 lead.

• The Eagles tacked on two more in the third and fourth innings as Holland hit solo home runs in back-to-back innings, one to left center and one to right center, to give BC a 7-0 lead.

• W&L cut the deficit to four in the top of the fifth as John Turner singled to start the inning before McGovern walked and DeWitte reached on a fielding error to load the bases. A. Caywood drove in a pair as he doubled to left center field, making it 7-2. N. Caywood drove in DeWitte two batters later with a sacrifice fly to center.

• However, Bridgewater got three back in the bottom half of the inning as Smith drew a five-pitch lead off walk before moving over to third on a wild pitch and a ground out. He scored on a Walter single up the middle before a Valbak walk put a pair on. Hensley drove in Walter with a single through the left side before Valbak scored on a Suters double to center, putting them up 10-3.

• In the seventh, A. Caywood and N. Caywood drew walks before Teague roped a double into the left-center gap to drive in a run. Samuel Chase drove in Teague, and N. Caywood cut the lead to make it a 10-6 ballgame.

• However, the Eagles shut the door and punched their ticket to ODAC Championship weekend.

TOP PERFORMERS:

• Samuel Chase paced the Generals' offense with a 4-for-5 (.800) effort with two RBI. Nick Caywood posted a team-high four RBI this afternoon with three hits. N. Caywood went 3-for-5 in game two with three RBI, while Andrew Thornton, John Turner, and Camdyn Teague each had an RBI. Samuel Chase went 3-for-4 in game three with two RBI, while Alex Caywood matched him with a pair of runs batted in.

• Henry Steene (3-2) earned the win on the mound in game two after pitching five innings, allowing two unearned runs on five hits with four strikeouts. Brody Pasieka earned his third save of the season after pitching four shutout innings, allowing five hits while striking out two. Bob Burr (2-1) was tagged with the loss in game three, allowing five runs (three earned) on six hits in 1.2 innings of work.

NOTEWORTHY POINTS:

• The Generals finished the 2026 season with a 21-14-1 overall record and a 10-9-1 record in ODAC play. Their 21 wins marked the most since 2017 where they went 30-12 while securing their first postseason win since 2017 where they won four games en route to an ODAC Championship appearance.

• With his save in game two, Brody Pasieka tied Jim Plantholt '10 for the third-most saves in a career with nine. His 19 appearances this season is tied for third-most in a single season as well.

• Alex Caywood finished the season with a program record for runs scored in a single season (51) while posting the second-most doubles (19), walks (30) and hit by pitches (12).

• Andrew Thornton recorded 44 RBI this season which moved past Cory Paton and Will Lewis to No. 4 all-time for a single season while Nathan DeWitte scored the second-most runs behind A. Caywood with 50.

Nestled in the mountains of Virginia, Washington and Lee University is a proud member of NCAA Division III and the Old Dominion Athletic Conference. Founded in 1749, W&L is the ninth-oldest college in the United States and a top-ranked liberal arts university. With over 500 student-athletes in 24 varsity sports, the Generals have celebrated over 265 conference championships. Learn more about the Blue and White by visiting www.generalssports.com or on social media at @WLUGenerals.