Baseball collected its first series victory of the season this past weekend, winning two of three games against Maine following a six-game losing streak and a win against Towson to start the season.
GW opened the series with a 5–2 victory on Friday but were bested 11–3 on Saturday before snatching the series win with a decisive 12–4 finish over the Black Bears Sunday. The Colonials accomplished a total of 20 runs in three games while giving up 17 runs to the Black Bears.
Redshirt senior right-handed pitcher Harrison Cohen allowed just two runs on five hits in seven innings in the opener while redshirt senior designated hitter Derek Ripp batted in three runs to close out the series.
Head Coach Gregg Ritchie said the team showed resilience over the course of the weekend and after taking a loss on Saturday.
“And as you can see, they’re very resilient,” he said. “They shake off a loss, and that’s a big deal.”
Game One
Led by strong pitching performances from Cohen and graduate student Trevor Kuncl, the Colonials beat the Black Bears 5–2.
Freshman catcher Tim Nicholson scored on a sacrifice fly from senior second baseman Noah Levin to kick off the scoring in the third. Graduate student outfielder Michael Ludowig followed shortly afterward, hitting a single into left to score junior shortstop Steve DiTomaso.
Levin hit a two-run home run to right field in the fifth for his third of the year and second at home. Senior centerfielder Cade Fergus hit a solo homer in the eighth to close out Colonials scoring.
The Black Bears would manage single-run innings in the fourth and eighth but could not overcome the Colonials’ defense.
Cohen lasted seven innings, giving up only two runs on five hits while striking out eight to collect his first win of the season. Kuncl closed out the final two innings, giving up no runs, no hits and only two walks to collect his first save of the year.
“Our defense played well,” Ritchie said. “We walked less guys, hitters kept the chain connected, and that’s the end result.”
Game Two
The Colonials fell to the Black Bears 11–3 to give Maine its first and only win of the series.
Redshirt sophomore infielder Joe Biancone led the GW offense, batting in all three runs of the day. The Colonials would finish with a .161 batting average on the day after only five hits in 31 at-bats.
The Black Bears were led by sophomore second baseman Quinn McDaniel who scored three runs, batted in two and collected three hits in four at-bats.
Five different Maine players batted in two or more runs, and four had multi-hit games. The Black Bears managed a total of 16 hits in 39 at-bats.
Despite a season-high 11 strikeouts, the Colonials’ pitchers struggled. Junior Connor Harris picked up his third loss of the season, and the five total pitchers gave up 11 runs on 16 hits and six walks.
Game Three
The Colonials returned Sunday to close out the series with a 12–4 win, giving them their first series victory of the season.
Ritchie said the Saturday game was a test for the Colonials, and the squad responded the way he hoped they would.
“Because it’s one of those games where you can not be there after you took that little bit of a thrashing, right?” he said. “And I was really, really proud of them. I can’t tell you how proud I am of them right now.”
The Colonials came out swinging, scoring six runs and batting all the way through the lineup in the first inning. They followed suit in the second, scoring another three runs.
Fergus hit a two-run homer in the second to score designated hitter Ripp for his third home run of the season and his second of the series.
The Colonials’ pitching showed improvement over Saturday, allowing only four runs on eight hits and four walks. Graduate right-handed pitcher Justin Solt went five innings, giving up only one run while striking out five to collect his first win of the season.
Ripp led the offensive onslaught, managing three hits in four at-bats while batting in two runs. Four Colonials had multi-hit games and six collected extra-base hits.
Freshman second baseman Ty Acker doubled in the sixth, batting in a run, to collect his first hit in his second career start with the Colonials.
The Colonials will start off another three-game series at 3 p.m. on Friday against Hofstra at home to begin an eight-game homestead.
