NORWICH, Conn. – The GW baseball team came into the Atlantic 10 Tournament as the No. 2 seed and, with a first round bye, seemed poised to make a deep run in the tourney.
But two aces got in the way of GW’s championship goal. Richmond’s Thomas Martin (7-2, 2.80 ERA) and Rhode Island’s Zack Zuercher (8-3, 3.65 ERA) helped shut down the GW offense and knock the Colonials out of the double elimination tournament held at Dodd Memorial Stadium May 27-29.
The No. 3 seed Spiders defeated GW 3-0 on May 27, which forced the Colonials into the loser’s bracket. After defeating Fordham 6-4 May 29, the Colonials fell to the No. 1 seed Rams 8-4 that afternoon. Despite finishing with the second most wins in school history, GW (41-18) did not receive an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament, making them the only 40-plus win team in the nation not to earn a bid.
“In baseball, on any given day one pitcher can beat you,” GW head coach Tom Walter said. “In the opening game Martin from Richmond just dominated us. He had a major league slider going that night, and we couldn’t do much with him. Then we got into the loser’s bracket and had to face the conference pitcher of the year (Zuercher).”
The Colonials had not faced Rhode Island this year, but before the tourney, several GW players said their team matched up well against Zuercher. The Colonials’ offense was able to put up four runs on the Rams’ ace but could not avoid elimination.
GW starting pitcher Anthony Smith allowed eight runs in only three and one-third innings. The Colonials’ offense was powered by freshman Bill Simpson, who had a two-run double in the seventh inning and a home run in the ninth.
“I am disappointed, but Zuercher threw a good game,” senior co-captain Jeff Fertitta said. “We hit balls hard at guys, but there is nothing you can do if they don’t drop.”
In the opening game of the tourney, Richmond’s Martin pitched a complete game shutout, striking out 11 batters and allowing only four hits. GW pitcher Dan Sullivan had a strong game, allowing three runs in a complete game loss.
After being relegated to the loser’s bracket, GW beat Fordham 6-4 in a strange game that began May 27 and was not finished until May 29. The Colonials had a 6-3 lead going into the ninth inning before heavy fog forced the postponement.
When the game picked up again, freshman closer Derek Lutz allowed one run but picked up the save for the Colonials.
But after beating GW, Rhode Island and Richmond ran into No. 4 St. Bonaventure. The Bonnies were a perfect 4-0 in the tourney, defeating Fordham in the first round before beating the Rams twice and the Spiders once to capture their first A-10 Championship.
St. Bonaventure was the only A-10 team to make the NCAA Tournament.
Coming into the tourney, the Colonials had won 29 of their last 35 games and had a 14-game winning streak during the season. Five players made the A-10 All Conference First Team, and freshman Anthony Smith was named Rookie of the Year.
“The thing is that in baseball the best team doesn’t always win, and I truly feel like we have the best team in the conference,”Walter said.
The Colonials may be without two of their premier players next year. Walter said junior outfielders Anthony Raglani and Ryan Roberson could be selected in the Major League Baseball amateur draft June 7.
