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Oakton's Reese pleads case
Two highly-touted, All-Region pitchers took the field during Monday's quarterfinal round of the Northern Region baseball tournament, which featured the Oakton Cougars and Stone Bridge Bulldogs.Oakton senior Bart Reese wasn't one of them.
“I was just excited for the opportunity to go out there and show my stuff,” said Reese, who authored 6.2 innings of sterling three-run ball in a 7-3 win for the Cougars (19-4). “We wanted to show that we're a good team as well.”
What Reese also showed was an ability to pitch deep into the ballgame, even if it required him to lobby a bit in order to fend off a late-game urge from his coach.
“He was probably a pitch or two away from coming out in the fifth,” joked Oakton coach Scott Rowland, whose team reached the semifinals for the eighth time in the past nine years. “[Reese] said he had one more [inning] after the fifth. He said he had one more going into the seventh. He almost closed it out.”
The two aforementioned Stone Bridge pitchers, right-handers Tyler Weaver and Tyler Basso (who started at third base after pitching in Stone Bridge's first-round win over T.C. Williams), have played integral roles for the Bulldogs (20-4) this season.
But Reese took control Monday. In addition to striking out six with a nasty changeup and a breaking ball that he kept low and away from hitters, Reese went through a 15-out stretch -- spanning from the last two outs of the second inning to the first out of the seventh -- where he didn't even allow a hit.
“I just had to refocus,” said Reese, describing his adjustment after allowing two runs in the second inning. “After that I was able to cruise and stay in that same mentality.”
Oakton's offense pounced on a few Stone Bridge mistakes, scoring on a pitch that got past Stone Bridge catcher Brian Wheaton in the second inning, while plating another run off of an errant pickoff attempt in the third.
Oakton junior Adam Henne lifted a fastball to right-center field for a solo home run in the fourth inning, while senior Bret Williams -- who recorded the game's final out in relief of Reese -- had a pair of sacrifice flys.
Freshman Luke Willis and senior Alfredo Rodriguez (3-for-4, RBI, R) each had run-scoring hits to add insurance down the stretch.
Oakton will face Lake Braddock in Wednesday's semifinal round, creating a rematch of the 2006 region final. Much like the Bruins' success as of late, Reese and Co. expect to be playing in the semifinal game every year.
“That's the precedent,” Reese said. “It's a great feeling knowing that you're in a program like this.”
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