By Ryan Mink
rmink@digitalsports.com
It was a bitter cold Monday afternoon as Whitman’s baseball team took on Paint Branch.
But Vikings senior catcher Danny Lee will take that wintry wind at his back any day.
Despite the occasional snow flurries, Lee and the rest of the Vikings’ bats were hot in a 17-7 win at Paint Branch.
The left-hitting Lee got the scoring kicked off with an RBI-double in the second inning for Whitman’s first run of the day and he finished off the scoring with a two-run blast. Overall, Lee was 4-for-5 with four RBIs hitting in the No. 8 spot in the lineup.
It’s his first home run of the season after recording one homer – also at Paint Branch’s field and also to right-center – last season. This one went further, however, traveling an estimated 390 feet.
“On swings like that, you can tell it’s going to go far,†said Lee, who was also a state runner-up in wrestling this year. “[The wind] was definitely in favor of the batter this game. It went straight out to center field. I’m sure it helped.â€
Whitman (5-1) banged out 14 hits overall while Paint Branch (4-2) wasn’t too bad at the plate either with 12.
It was much closer early on as Whitman’s Jessie Mates led off the game with a double and was promptly moved over to third by Max Hilbert. But an infield pop-up by Ethan Thompson and dribbler to the pitcher by Chris Kelly left Nates stranded and Whitman Coach Joe Cassidy beside himself in anger.
Paint Branch notched a pair of singles in the first followed by an RBI single by starting pitcher Mike Noyes and fielder’s choice by William Smith in which he beat out a potential double play at first, allowing Colin Cox to score all the way from second for a 2-0 lead.
That especially infuriated Cassidy and he let his players know it.
“It makes me angry, personally,†Thompson said of being called out during the game by his coach. “But I think that’s a good thing. I play better when I’m angry. It helps me focus.â€
Thompson crushed a pair of doubles in his next two at-bats, the second of which drove in two runs in a four-run fourth inning that broke open the game and saw the Vikings bat entirely through the order.
From there, Whitman just kept mashing the ball with Danny Williams (3-for-5, 3 RBI), Thompson (2-for-5, 2 RBI) and Lee leading the way.
It’s not the first time Whitman has had a big offensive outburst this season. They beat Einstein 14-4, Poolesville 21-1 and Springbrook 13-0 on Monday. The Vikings also have a win over Blake with their only loss coming against Richard Montgomery.
“At the plate we’re a deadly team,†Lee said. “We’ve got good hitting throughout the lineup. There’s no weak spots.â€
Thompson pitched five innings, using a bevy of breaking pitches because the strong in his wind caused even his fastball to be an off-speed pitch. He allowed just one run after the first inning before being relieved by Ross Olchyk and Dan Shannahan.
Paint Branch scored four runs in the final two innings, two on a two-run home run by Frankie Poulos to left field. But in the end, Whitman’s bats were just too much.
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