After winning four of six, baseball had momentum on its side heading into its last road trip before conference play. However, the Colonials took another step backwards Sunday–losing 12-1 to Charleston Southern and dropping yet another key series to a non-league opponent.
The Colonials fell to 8-12 with Sunday’s beatdown and now find themselves in a sizeable hole early in the season.
“We just need consistency,” head coach Gregg Ritchie said. “One game we put up ten runs and give up five while the next our pitching will put us in a hole that our hitters can’t get us out of.”
Senior starter Jacob Williams suffered his first loss of the season after allowing five runs through five innings of work. GW’s bullpen could not soften the blow either as Randy Dalrymple gave up five earned runs himself.
“Obviously our bullpen has been struggling,” Ritchie said. “That is priority number one. Everyone just needs to do the job that they are capable of doing. We need consistent play across the board if we are going to win ballgames.”
With only a few games left until A-10 play picks up, the Colonials have some questions to answer if they are going to make any noise at all this season.
Game 1: CSU 3, GW 1
CSU starter Evan Raynor put the GW bats to sleep in his seven inning effort in game one Friday.
In the second inning, GW made a few sloppy mistakes to allow Charleston Southern to take a 1-0 lead. CSU doubled down the left-field line and Andrew Selby bobbled the ball, which put a runner on third. The Bucs scored later on a passed ball.
GW knotted the score at one after a Robbie Metz RBI single, but Bobby LeWarne relinquished the lead in the sixth after allowing back-to-back hits. CSU got an insurance run in the seventh and never looked back, clinching game one 3-1.
Game 2: GW 10, CSU 5
The Colonials flashed signs of potential in game two, scoring four runs over its final five at-bats to take the nightcap, 10-5. First baseman Bobby Campbell hit a solo home run and was 3-for-4 with four RBI in the win; GW outhit the Bucs 13-8.
In the fifth inning, the Colonials scored four to build a 6-4 lead the Bucs would not come back from. Campbell’s two-run single was the big blow in the frame.
Four GW relievers combined to hold the Bucs to three hits and a lone run in the eighth. Chance Malek picked up the win for GW, working 1.1 innings and striking out two. Eddie Muhl picked up his fifth save after getting out of a bases-loaded jam in the eighth.
