Baseball (24-20, 11-10 A-10) fell to Towson University (15-30, 6-12 CAA) 8-6 in a non-conference home game on Tuesday.
The Revs’ pitching faltered early as Towson jumped to a 6-0 lead in the fourth inning, but five straight GW runs and strong performances at the plate tightened their deficit before a scoreless final three innings for the Revs. GW currently stands in sixth place out of 12 teams in the Atlantic 10 standings with three conference series left in the season and two other teams sharing an 11-10 record.
GW entered their bout with Towson having won six of their last seven games, with all but one of the wins coming against A-10 opponents. The Revs also lost to Towson 16-2 in their first matchup of the season in Maryland on March 12, as they failed to slow down a dominant Tigers team that notched 14 hits and stole eight bases.
The Revs have found success at the plate this season, batting a team average of .289, good for sixth in the conference. But the team has struggled with power hitting, with a conference low of 31 home runs. Davidson, who sits just above GW with a 13-8 conference record, leads the A-10 with 76 home runs.
Graduate student outfielder Ellis Schwartz leads the team in hits with 59 off a .351 batting average. His eight home runs also lead the team, followed by redshirt sophomore outfielder Charlie Rogan with five. Schwartz got two hits in five at-bats against Towson, including the team’s only extra base hit, a double to lead off the sixth inning.
The Revs failed to score a run in the first three innings against the Tigers, allowing Towson to open up a 6-0 lead in the top of the fourth. The Revs rallied to tighten it up in the sixth inning to a 7-6 deficit, but it proved too little too late as they were blanked to end the game.
The Revs finished the first inning with two hits and a walk, but left the bases loaded after a strikeout from freshman outfielder Brodie Freker. In the second inning, the Revs left two more on base, failing to respond to the Tigers’ two runs.
The Tigers continued their scoring, batting in two more runs in the third inning while the Revs stranded another runner in the bottom, falling behind 4-0.
The Tigers expanded their lead to 6-0 with two doubles in the next frame. In the bottom of the fourth, the Revs’ sophomore outfielder Colton Walker walked to first base and stole second. Freshman infielder Charlie Walsh flied out to center field, advancing Walker to third. Sophomore infielder Cristino Tufano grounded out to shortstop, allowing Walker to give the Revs their first run in the fourth inning, bringing the score to 6-1.
This season, the Tigers averaged 5.71 runs per game, putting them last in runs scored in the Coastal Athletic Association conference. Their eight runs against GW is the most they’ve had in a game since April 12, when they beat Elon University 23-5. GW averages 6.61 runs per game and are seventh in the A-10 in total runs.
Rogan began the bottom of the fifth inning with a walk, then senior infielder Ty Acker hit a single to third base, advancing Rogan to third base. Walsh batted in two runs with a single to right center, resulting in a score of 7-4 after another Towson run in the top of the frame.
Schwartz scored for the Revs in the sixth inning as sophomore first baseman Robbie Lavey hit an RBI single to drive him home. Sophomore infielder Josh Wenz singled to center field, knocking in another run and bringing the Revs within one run, 7-6.
The Revs fell silent in the last three innings, unable to complete the comeback or respond to an additional Towson run. Senior catcher Tim Nicholson pinch-hit a single with two outs in the ninth to bring the tying run to the plate, but this proved futile as the game ended on a groundout the next at-bat.
Baseball will continue their A-10 competition with a three-game series at Davidson, starting on Friday at 5 p.m.
