OL Baseball moves on to a 6-2 record with their 2-0 shut out against the SunDevils of Salem.

Starting with Nate Chown at the mound and closing with Peter Phillips, the Dolphin’s defense suffocated Salem in a defensive battle. 

“We are a team that is gonna do the little things better than you’re going to; it’s a good feeling to execute and win the battle,” said coach Pete Zell.

Opportunities arose for younger pitchers Peter Phillips, Nick Beatty, and Nate Chown after Max Khule broke his right forearm against Princess Anne. 

“They’ve pitched very well. In particular, we’ve put Peter in some big spots, and he’s not scared. He hit 88 on the radar gun yesterday, and the Virginia Tech commit only hit 89,” said Zell.

With a run already batted in early in the game, Carson Demartini sealed bragging rights against Salem’s fellow Virginia Tech commit pitcher with a lead-off home run in the bottom of the sixth inning. 

“Our guys go out there and expect to win, but you can’t expect to win without putting in the work,” said Zell. “We need to get quality at-bats. We give too much away at the plate; sometimes we’re just too easy at that.”

After an upset loss to Kempsville High School, the Dolphins fall behind only Cox and First Colonial in the beach who each have one loss. With a projected second or third seed, they are likely to face a gauntlet of a playoff run with teams like Western Branch, Grassfield, James River, and Cosby.

“I like our chances; our goal is still to improve daily. We’ve got four more games, and playoffs are supposed to start June 14-18. Unofficially, they may be moved up a few days.”