By Sam Armstrong

LEXINGTON, Va. – The Southern Virginia baseball team dropped a close matchup with cross-county rival Washington & Lee on Tuesday by a score of 8-7.

The Knights (6-6) had no problem reaching base against the Generals' (7-7) pitching, gathering 15 total hits and drawing six walks in the game. The team also had its way on the base paths, stealing seven bases, including two each from Ryan Saunders and Cole Critchfield. Unfortunately, the Knights left 11 runners on base in the loss.

The game was back-and-forth the whole way with both teams taking two-run leads at different points. Down 8-6 in the top of the ninth, Southern Virginia cut the lead to one as Jordan Keefer took a free pass with the bases loaded, but the game ended soon after as the Knights grounded into a double play.

Critchfield and Canon Anderson both went 3-5 in the game, with Critchfield driving in two runs and Anderson driving in one. Caleb Layden raised his team-leading batting average to .457 with a two-hit performance, while infielders Ryan Morin and Riley Daniels also finished with a pair of hits with an RBI each.

Jonathan Hodges started the game on the mound for Southern Virginia, lasting four innings while giving up three runs on six hits with three strikeouts. Freshman Stetson Kay took the loss, giving up two runs in an inning pitched.

After a day of rest, the Knights start an eight-game home stretch on Thursday as they take on Lynchburg College at Parry McCluer High School at 2:00 p.m.