Leesburg, Va. — For the second time in three innings, Broad Run High School senior captain Luke Lindenfeldar found himself on base and looked in as fellow senior captain Ryan Gorey was at the plate. For the second time in as many at-bats, Gorey fought back from two strikes and drove in Lindenfeldar with a sharp shot to the outfield. That Gorey-Lindenfeldar connection helped the Spartans jump out to a 9-0 after three innings before holding on for a 9-5 opening day victory over their hosts from Loudoun County High School.

“Ryan and I have been best friends since kindergarten,” Lindenfeldar said. “We won the district in football and would like to make a run in baseball, too. This is our last season together, and we want to make it special.”

Broad Run senior Anthony Puma – the third captain on this year’s Spartans squad – started and went four innings while allowing two runs and striking out six to pick up the win.

Loudoun County senior and James Madison-commit Donovan Burke took the loss for the Raiders, allowing four runs on four hits and three walks in 2.1 innings of work. Burke struck out four.

“We were psyched to see [Burke] starting. He throws hard and has some nasty stuff,” Lindenfeldar said. “It was good to get a lead for Anthony, and he took care of the rest.”

Despite the loss, there were plenty of reasons for optimism for the Raiders as well. Loudoun County actually outhit the Spartans, 13-6, including three hits each from sophomore Sean Goodhart and junior Tommy Ronis.

After Burke’s exit, the DeProspero brothers, Dutch and Wyatt, combined to go the last 4.2 innings, allowing just two hits while striking out eight.

Loudoun County (0-0, 0-1) will look to bounce back when they travel to Martinsburg on March 14, while the Spartans (0-0, 1-0) are off until March 19 when they host George Mason High School in Ashburn.