Baseball secured a home series win this past weekend, winning three of four games against Richmond.
The Colonials (25-14,14-6 A-10) plated a total of 16 runs in four games while also conceding 16 runs to the Spiders (17-15, 3-9 A-10). GW opened the series with a 6–5 victory on Friday, and the Colonials bested Richmond in the first match the next day, but were shut out in a 5–0 before snatching the series win with a 3–1 finish over the Spiders Sunday.
Senior outfielder Domenic Boselli batted three runs in the opener while right-handed pitcher Connor Harris closed out the series finale, allowing just one run on four hits and two walks to earn his third win of the season.
“It was awesome, it really was a full team effort,” Harris said. “I’m just going to keep working and putting us in opportunities to win and just keep trusting the boys behind me. ‘The Boys and Buff,’ that’s our motto. We got a big family here.”
Game One:
The Colonials beat the Spiders in a 6–5 walk-off victory after senior outfielder Domenic Boselli hit a single in the bottom of the ninth inning.
Junior outfielder Cade Fergus tripled and ran across the plate off a groundout from sophomore utility player Steve DiTomaso to kick off the scoring. Boselli quickly followed up, smashing a solo home run to give the Colonials a 2–0 buffer.
“Dom is a staple in our lineup,” Harris said. “It was huge coming in and having that bomb, it just energized everybody. Getting him back in the swing of things is just a huge power threat in our lineup. He’s just a beast overall.”
The Spiders bounced back, scoring twice in the third off a double and then two more runs off a fielding error in the fourth to take the lead. GW retook the lead in the fifth off a groundout from Boselli and a fly out by graduate student utility player Steve Barmakian before Richmond tied it up in the eighth.
Redshirt junior infielder Derek Ripp began the ninth with a double and Boselli smacked it past the Spiders’ second baseman to bring Ripp home.
Right-handed pitcher senior Trevor Kuncl showed out in relief, retiring the final five batters he faced to collect his fourth win of the season.
Game Two:
The Colonials rode the momentum from Friday’s victory to overcome the Spiders yet again in a 7–5 win.
The Colonials racked up four runs in the first two innings. GW would finish the day with a .367 batting average, connecting on 11 of 31 at bats.
The Spiders tacked on a run in the third, but the Colonials added on three more runs in the fifth off a triple from Barmakian and a pair of singles from outfielder/first base Logan Leax and junior catcher Anthony Frechette to cap GW’s scoring for the game.
Redshirt junior right-handed pitcher Harrison Cohen allowed just two runs on seven hits through six innings while striking out six opposing batters to secure his fifth win of the year. Richmond scored three times in the bottom of the seventh and had the tying runs on base, but senior right-handed pitcher Justin Solt took over pitching duties to get the final out and pick up his first save of the season.
Game Three:
The Colonials fell to the Spiders in a 5–0 loss, splitting the Saturday doubleheader and breaking Richmond’s seven-game losing streak.
The Spiders held a stout defense anchored by graduate student right-handed pitcher Colby Wyatt, who left no room for the Colonials to score, notching six strikeouts to earn his first shutout and third complete game of the season.
“He beat us that day,” head coach Gregg Ritchie said. “He threw pitches down in the zone, he used all his stuff, and our guys just didn’t adjust.”
Graduate student right-handed pitcher Jaret Edwards marked his third complete game, allowing five runs through seven innings. He struck out three batters but gave up four runs in the second inning, two of which were scored off fielding errors, while also suffering a solo homer in the sixth.
GW loaded the bases in the bottom of the fourth, but Wyatt delivered a strikeout to quash the scoring opportunity. The Colonials finished the day batting at a .091 average and a total of just two hits.
Game Four:
With the newly crowned A-10 softball champions cheering from the stands, the Colonials took home the series win, sending the Spiders packing in a 3–1 victory.
Harris pitched into the eighth inning for the first time in his career. He retired the first eight batters he faced before hitting the batter with a pitch
After conceding a run with the bases loaded in the third, Harris battled back to surrender just three baserunners over the next four innings. Ritchie said Harris exhibited composure on the mound and found his fastball well against the next batters.
“There’s no fear in him,” Ritchie said. “And when he walked the one guy, I had no doubt that he was going to get competitive on the very next hitter. And he just went straight into attack mode.”
In the fifth inning, Barmakian zipped the ball toward home plate, allowing Frechette to tag out the runner as he dove towards the plate and keep the Spiders from padding their lead.
The Colonials finally got their first man on base with two outs in the bottom of the fifth when outfielder/right-handed pitcher senior Tyler Hix walked. Ripp followed up with a single before freshman utility player Eddie Micheletti Jr. knocked an RBI single to right-center to tie the game.
Boselli scored in the seventh to give the Colonials their first lead of the game off a single from Ripp. DiTomaso knocked a single in the eighth, ushering Frechette home and the final run of the day for GW to ensure the victory.
“There’s a lot of adversities these guys are learning how to deal with and they’re becoming masters of handling it,” Ritchie said. “That keeps you chugging away. That’s how you find a way to be champions on Sunday.”
The Colonials’ last home game of the season was Tuesday against crosstown rival Georgetown for a 3 p.m. first pitch. From there, GW will hit the road at Dayton for a four-game series this weekend to end the regular season.
Roman Bobek contributed reporting.
