This post was written by Hatchet senior staff writer Josh Solomon.
BRONX, NY – In the thirty minutes between games staff members working the A-10 Championship at Fordham headed to the press box to grab some of the remaining now-cold hamburgers.
Overlooking the field, on a day of 90-degree summer heat and upsets between the base paths, one staff member turned to another between bites of his burger. “I would imagine Saint Louis would win, but with the way the day’s gone, I’m going to go with GW.”
The burger-eating-staffer was right to assume Saint Louis should win. The Billikens were the higher seeded team. The Billikens also just swept the Colonials a few days ago, outscoring them 28-10 in the series.
And GW had lost to VCU 5-1 this afternoon, showing few signs of lively bats. Down to the elimination side of the bracket, he Colonials were set to play the loser of the late afternoon game.
GW would draw the Billikens, after the team blew a 5–2 lead to Fordham in the eighth inning. Meanwhile GW had been back to its hotel room and changed uniforms to its steely grey pants (which some opposing teams have referred to as pajama pants).
The pajama pants proved to be potent for a Colonials bunch that lacked punch just hours earlier.
First, it took the form of lucky jab that landed for an early 1-0 lead. Then came a fortunate follow up of a two-out rally for two more runs. What followed was a knockout punch in the form of a three run home to the football bleachers in deep left center field by junior Kevin Mahala to give the Colonials a six run lead and eventually the game.
A bunch of runs, coupled with a clutch start by senior Jacob Williams, who twirled 5.2 innings, giving up one run on five hits and striking out six, helped to keep the season alive in a 6-1 win for GW.
“I’ve said this all the time, our guys are pretty resilient in bouncing back,” head coach Gregg Ritchie said.
Before the playoff started, following the sweep to Saint Louis, Ritchie said that the number one key to his team’s success in the tournament was pitching, primarily starting pitching. Earlier in the day, fellow senior Bobby LeWarne couldn’t keep it together in the fifth inning.
Wednesday night, Williams worked well through five innings, and only a hiccup in the sixth on a balk and a couple seeing-eye singles succumbed him to the end of his start. The Billikens were held without a hit until two outs in the fourth.
“I had a lot of adrenaline out there, knowing it could be the last opportunity to pitch in my career,” Williams said. “Also just trying to give everybody on the team, especially the other seniors a chance to just keep playing. None of us want the season to end, especially our careers.”
GW fed off the momentum from its starter.
Though the Colonials couldn’t capitalize on a one-out double by sophomore Robbie Metz in the first inning, they were able to come back in the second inning and score one.
Here’s where the luck came in: with runners on first and second and one out, the night’ designated hitter (with senior Matthieu Robért behind the dish), sophomore Brandon Chapman grounded into what should have been a routine double play to end the inning. The throw to first was low and skirted under the first baseman’s glove to allow one run to score.
In the fourth, Robért was hit by a pitch with two outs. Chapman, down in the count to his final strike, drove one over the center fielder’s head for a double to score his fellow catching mate. Junior Joey Bartosic followed up with an RBI single of his own.
And then the big inning came in what amounted to be a nine pitch at bat to Mahala. Foul ball after foul ball, finally Mahala straightened out one and to one of the deepest parts of the ballpark.
“I just kept telling myself you’re due, you’re due, because I’ve been struggling a little bit lately,” Mahala said.
He smoked a no-doubter, three-run home run into the bleachers in left center. That gave GW a six run lead and would be all for the day, plenty for a win against Saint Louis.
“We called ourselves the eliminators last year, and we’re trying to buy into that again this year,” Mahala said. “They had our number last weekend but we pride ourselves in our ability to dust ourselves off and that’s exactly what we did.”
GW will play Thursday at 5 p.m in a rematch with No. 2 VCU who lost to Davidson Thursday. Potential starters could be junior Shane Sweeney, or sophomores Brady Renner of Robbie Metz.
