In the span of two weeks, the Oakton baseball team has gone from Virginia AAA Northern Region contender to title favorite.
What's most impressive about the Cougars' five-game winning streak isn't just who they've beaten -- three-time WCAC champion DeMatha, Yorktown, Liberty District champion Madison, Northern Region champion Westfield and Herndon -- it's how they've done it.
During the streak, Oakton (7-3, 2-0 Concorde District) has scored 56 runs and tossed three one-hitters, by Bryan Kidwell (vs. DeMatha), Evan Frederickson (vs. Westfield) and Frederickson, Colin Michael and Benji Kagan (vs. Yorktown). Oakton handed Herndon its first loss on Friday, rallying behind senior designated hitter Rollin Lynn's three-run sixth-inning homer for a 14-8 win.
The third-ranked Cougars, however, are bracing for some potential bad news: junior first baseman Chris Despins could miss significant playing time with a lingering knee injury, Coach Scott Rowland said Sunday.
-- Tarik El-Bashir
