Saturday, March 22, 8:45 p.m.
Two parts of Washington baseball culture clashed on Saturday afternoon, with one common thread. On the diamond, the GW and Saint Joseph’s baseball teams squared off in both teams’ first Atlantic 10 game of the season. Off it, the presidential mascot race made famous at Nationals games was in full force, with the giant caricatured head of George Washington finishing well ahead of Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson, and Theodore Roosevelt in a dash down the first base line.
But that race wouldn’t be the only thing that George Washington won that afternoon, as the Colonials got out to an early lead and held off a late charge by the Hawks to win 9-4 in the first game to be played at brand new Nationals Park.
“The guys had a blast. Just coming in here, parking up front, they were sort of like, ‘Wow!'” GW baseball’s head coach Steve Mrowka said. “The facility is above and beyond being nice, and we played a good game today so that makes it just that much more enjoyable.”
Senior outfielder Charlie Kruer recorded both the first hit and the first run ever at the new ballpark, both coming in the bottom of the first inning. Freshman starting pitcher Eric Cantrell threw the first official pitch and strikeout, en route to a one-hit performance through seven innings before being relieved in the eighth inning.
“It’s been incredible from the moment we got here, seeing how big this place is,” Cantrell said of his experience at Major League Baseball’s newest stadium. “The mound’s not as high as it is in college stadiums, so I had to work around it and get my pitches lower, but it turned out well.”
There was success in the stands as well, even though only four sections of seating were left open – two atop the GW dugout for Colonials (10-9, 2-1 A-10) fans, with the same for the Saint Joe’s supporters across the field. Nonetheless, a large and predominantly alumni-based crowd showed up to cheer on the Colonials. Though no official attendance figures were released, Mrowka claimed that the attendance was “the most we’ve ever had.”
The location was not the only praise the Nationals’ new home received. Many spectators complimented the stadium’s food, as well as the large, high-definition scoreboard that looms over right field, visible from every seat in the stadium.
“I’ve been a season ticket holder for the three seasons at RFK (the Nationals’ home the past three seasons), and from my seats you couldn’t even see the scoreboard in center field,” said Mike Freedman, GW’s vice president of communications. “The stadium is beautiful, and what could be better for GW than to have the inaugural event here? This is really indicative of the relationships that GW has throughout Washington.”
Freedman said the opportunity for GW to participate in the event came because of good relations and collaboration between Senior Vice President for Academic and Student Support Services Robert Chernak, the Lerner Family, which contains several GW Alumni and are majority owners of the Nats, and former Colonials baseball player and current Board of Trustees president Russel Ramsey, who threw out the ceremonial first pitch at the new ground.
“The Lerner family was terrific to have us here at Nationals Park today,” Chernak said. “It was a great day for GW.”
