In one swing, Matt Cosentino brought baseball back from a 3–1 deficit en route to a win over Georgetown Tuesday afternoon.
The senior first baseman hit a grand slam over the left field fence in the bottom of the seventh inning, and the Colonials (2-5) defeated the Hoyas (0-7) 6-3 in their home opener.
“I was just looking to put something out into the outfield,” Cosentino said. “He threw a ball elevated on the inner half, fastball, and I didn’t try to do too much with it and got a hold of it.”
Cosentino’s big moment came to the rescue of an otherwise struggling GW offense, who were no-hit in their last outing against Stetson Sunday and continued to struggle early on in Tuesday’s game. The first nine Colonials batters of the game each went down in order.
The win improved GW’s all-time series record in the hometown rivalry to 93-42-1, and senior Tyler Swiggart and junior Will Kobos earned their first win and save of the year, respectively.
The four-run swing provided the Colonials dugout with energy for the rest of the game. But after the game, head coach Gregg Ritchie said he reminded his players that their energy should be a more consistent presence in their dugout.
“That electric energy has to be there every single pitch of every single inning because you’re not going to win like that all the time,” he said.
Georgetown took advantage of GW’s lack of offensive spark early on, putting two runs on the board before GW had even managed a hit.
Ritchie said as his team was faltering early, he tried to remind players to be disciplined and not to overcompensate for their mistakes.
“You have to recognize what you’re doing, you have to work to make an adjustment, and the adjustments have to be by simplifying,” he said. “You can’t just create something.”
[gwh_image id=”1050222″ credit=”Matt Cullen | Staff Photographer” align=”none” size=”embedded-img”]Baseball players walk out of the dugout to celebrate a home run during a baseball game against Georgetown Tuesday afternoon.[/gwh_image]
Despite the lack of early offensive support, senior pitcher Isaiah Pasteur held the Hoyas to one earned run, working his way out of several tough spots and multiple errors in the field. The start marked Pasteur’s first appearance on the mound for the Colonials – the third position he has played for the team within their first seven games.
A timely double play for GW in the top of the third with the bases loaded prevented Georgetown from breaking the game wide open and began to swing the momentum in GW’s direction.
Pasteur provided his squad’s first hit of the game with a single in the fourth inning, and an RBI by Cosentino in the bottom of the fourth put GW’s first run on the board.
Cosentino’s home run put GW ahead 5-3, and a sacrifice fly in the eighth inning by sophomore shortstop Nate Fassnacht added an insurance run to seal the victory.
With the Colonials second home game of the year Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. against Maryland Eastern Shore, Ritchie said the team is looking build on its momentum.
“Whether you get hits or not, whether you get balls in the field or not, be very consistent with your energy and consistent with your manner and do things the right way,” he said.
