1:12
Stone Bridge senior Johnny Bladel talks with DigitalSports after his complete-game win. Bladel (7-0) threw first-pitch strikes to 25 of the 30 batters he faced and struck out 10 Woodson batters, while walking just one.
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By Phil Murphy
Senior Multimedia/Content Editor
Washington D.C. Metropolitan Area

Woodson vs Stone Bridge
PHOTO      VIDEO

Marshall vs McLean
PHOTO      VIDEO

At the Liberty District semifinals, a pair of unbeaten, all-district aces kept their records spotless with performances that were remarkably efficient -- even by their own elevated standards.

Bulldog senior Johnny Bladel threw first-pitch strikes to 25 of the 30 batters he faced -- 72 strikes in his 96 pitches overall -- as Stone Bridge beat W.T. Woodson, 4-3, in the opening game the district semifinal doubleheader on Saturday.

And 40 minutes after that game culminated, Highlander junior Sean Fitzgerald delivered first-pitch strikes to 20 of his 26 batters -- 67 of his 89 pitches overall for strikes, including 18 in a row -- as top-seeded McLean beat Marshall, 6-2, in the late-afternoon game.

"He's was closing for us the first part of the season," Bulldog coach Sam Plank said of Bladel, a converted closer who is 7-0 since moving out of the bullpen. "We were searching for that No. 2 and he just said, 'Give me the ball.' We gave it to him and haven't looked back since.

"Shows how smart I am, waiting for his senior year to start him."

Added Highlander skipper John Thomas, on Fitzgerald: "The best thing about Sean is: He gives up a bolt to [Greg] Goldsmith and he's right back there doing his thing. Even when he hit that, I was pretty confident. He's been through the wringer a few times before.

"In high school baseball, and I don't mean to be cheesy, but he really buys in. A lot of it is just believing that your stuff is good enough and attack, attack, attack. And he's been like that since the ninth grade."

Fitzgerald finished his work in a hurry on Saturday.

It took just 85 minutes for him to cap the complete game as he took a no-hitter into the fifth inning and, with no errors behind him, forced 12 groundouts compared to three fly outs.

Fitzgerald, who Thomas called a "calming presence" for the rest of the team, struck out six Statesmen, while walking just one, to improve to 8-0 on the year in eight starts.

And Fitzgerald credits his on-mound rapidity -- and success -- to time spent in the off-season with McLean junior Denis Buckley, who catches Fitzgerald when not pitching himself.

"We talked to Coach over the postseason last year," said Fitzgerald, who also had a pair of doubles and two RBI at the plate. "[Buckley] has been calling pitches for me over the summer and we wanted to bring it into the regular season. Coach worked it out and I guess it's been working for us all season."

Added Thomas, the Liberty District Coach of the Year: "He likes to get it and go, that's for sure. He doesn't waste any time. And he's an easy guy to play defense behind.

"Just the tempo of the game, when he's on the mound, it's just the way we like it."

The Stone Bridge defense behind Bladel had even fewer opportunities on Saturday.

The James Madison-bound right-hander struck out 10 Woodson batters, while walking just one, and started all but five at-bats with strikes. And while his six-to-five ratio of groundouts to fly outs is statistically mediocre, only two of those five fly balls reached the outfield.

Despite his in-season transition from closer to starter, the move was so seamless for the flamethrower that he was honored between the semifinal games at Woodson as the Liberty District Player of the Year.

"Towards the middle of the year, I've started working more innings in the bullpen," said Bladel of his switch to starting. "Coming in, in relief, it wasn't just one inning. They were stretching me out, warming me up to get ready to start. By then, I was ready."

"Getting ahead of guys really helps. If I can keep them off-balanced with off-speed pitches, I can come back with the fastball to blow them away if I have to."

The wins by Stone Bridge and McLean set up a much-anticipated rematch in the Liberty District championship at Madison on Monday.

The Highlanders, who lost just one district game all year, beat the Bulldogs twice this season: 4-3, in their season-opener in Ashburn and, 4-2, at home on April 21.

Stone Bridge is slated to start senior Nick Fialdini, who pitched both regular-season match-ups with McLean, while the Highlanders will go with Buckley in the title game.

"Every time we face Stone Bridge, it's a complete dogfight, and in the back of my mind I kind of expected this all year long," Thomas said. "It is a war every single time and these guys know it.

"Whatever happens, it'll be a one-run, two-run game. It is every single time we play them."

Email: pmurphy@digitalsports.com

GAME ONE
W.T. Woodson    (11-12)     002 001 0 --  3   5   0
Stone Bridge       (17-4)      103 000 X --  4   8   3

Pitchers: 
WT - Joe McGillicuddy (L) - 2.1 IP, 4 H, 4 ER, K, 4 BB
WT - Wislocki - 2.2 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 2 K, BB
WT - Hough - IP, 2 H, 0 ER, K, 0 BB
SB - Bladel (W) - CG, 6 H, 2 ER, 10 K, BB
Pitches - Strikes:
WT - Joe McGillicuddy - 56-33; Wislocki - 42-26; Hough - 12-9.
SB - Bladel - 96-72.
Groundouts - Flyouts:
WT - Joe McGillicuddy - 2-4; Wislocki - 2-4; Hough - 2-0.
SB - Bladel - 6-5.
Batters Faced - First-Pitch Strikes:
WT - Joe McGillicuddy - 15-9; Wislocki - 10-6; Hough - 5-5.
SB - Bladel - 30-25.
Notable Batters: 
WT - Lewis - 1-4, RBI, K, SB, R
WT - Breslin - 1-3, RBI
WT - Joh. McGillicuddy - 2-3
SB - Rositano - 2-4, HR, RBI, R
SB - Thompson - 1-3, 2 RBI, K
SB - Bladel - 2-3, IBB, R
SB - Mattingly - 0-2, RBI, BB, K
Runners Left on Base: 
WT - 6
SB - 9
Time of Game: 
1 hour, 48 minutes.

GAME TWO
Marshall     (11-11)    000 020 0 --  2   4   0
McLean       (17-4)     000 321 X --  6   9   0

Pitchers: 
MR - Nutter (L) - 5 IP, 8 H, 5 ER, 2 K, 0 BB
MR - MacKeith - IP, H, ER, K, 0 BB
MC - Bladel (W) - CG, 4 H, 2 ER, 6 K, BB
Pitches - Strikes:
MR - Nutter - 67-43; MacKeith - 16-10.
MC - Fitzgerald - 89-67.
Groundouts - Flyouts:
MR - Nutter - 10-3; MacKeith - 1-1.
MC - Fitzgerald - 12-3.
Batters Faced - First-Pitch Strikes:
MR - Nutter - 22-12; MacKeith - 4-2.
MC - Fitzgerald - 26-20.
Notable Batters: 
MR - Goldsmith - 1-2, HR, 2 RBI, K, BB, R
MR - Bennett - 2-3, 2B, R
MC - Fitzgerald - 2-3, 2 2B, 2 RBI, R
MC - Russo - 2-2, 2B, RBI, 2 R
MC - Buckley - 1-3, HR RBI, R
MC - Payne - 1-3, RBI, K, R, SB
MC - Bleiweis -1-3, RBI, K
Runners Left on Base: 
MR - 3
MC - 2
Time of Game: 
1 hour, 25 minutes.