Last season, Fordham ended one of the best seasons on record for the GW baseball program with a win in the rain-shortened Atlantic 10 Tournament semifinals.
But the Colonials exacted a bit of revenge by sweeping the defending A-10 champion Rams in convincing fashion at home this weekend.
“We wanted revenge,” junior Ryan Dacey said. “We’ve been waiting for this day for awhile, because there’s no way they were better than us. I guess we just took it out on them.”
GW also earned home wins over the University of Richmond and Howard University last week. The Colonials have won five games in a row and nine of their last 10.
The 1999 GW baseball season is shaping up much like last season did, and that’s good news for the Colonials – they set a school record last season with 33 wins.
After struggling against tough non-conference opponents, GW (17-13, 5-1 A-10) has hit its stride with the start of the Atlantic 10 schedule, moving above .500 for the first time this season.
“We had an even tougher non-conference schedule this year than we did last year,” GW head coach Tom Walter said. “There’s definitely a lot of comparisons. We seem to be playing well at the right time. But obviously we’ve got a ton of conference play left.”
GW travels across town to face Georgetown University at 3 p.m. Tuesday.
GW 21, Fordham 4
The Colonials scored at least a run in every inning in pounding Fordham at Barcroft Park in the second game of a doubleheader Saturday.
GW marched around the bases all day, collecting 24 hits and sending an average of seven batters to the plate in each inning against the Rams (3-15, 0-3 A-10).
“There’s no doubt that’s our best offensive game of the year,” Walter said. “We’re really starting to click as a team right now, things are coming together. We’re starting to pitch the ball better, and we’re starting to play better defensively.”
GW wasted little time in forging a lead. Joe Beichert smacked a two-out two-run home run over the left-field fence in the bottom of the first.
The rout began in the third when Fordham starter Gary Reznik issued lead-off walks to Beichert and Mike Bassett. Chris Matarese loaded the bases with a single, and third baseman Matt Krimmel cleared them with a double to right. He later scored, and the Colonials led 7-0 through three innings.
Meanwhile, GW starter Tom Baginski (2-3) was mowing down Fordham batters, giving up just two hits over the first four innings. No Ram advanced past second base until the fifth inning, when Fordham’s Anthony Vega connected for a three-run homer off Baginski that made the score 8-3. But the Colonials put the game out of reach with six runs on six hits in the sixth inning, pushing their lead to 15-3.
Four GW players – Beichert, Bassett, Mike Roberts, and Adam Belicic – had three hits, while Ryan Dacey led GW by going 5-for-6 with a pair of doubles and three runs batted in.
“We go in streaks on offense,” Dacey said. “Really I think we should be doing this every game. We have the potential, and hopefully it’ll continue.”
The win at Barcroft Park was GW’s fifth there in a week, and the Colonials have won all 12 of their home games this season.
“Everybody likes to play at home,” GW head coach Tom Walter said. “You get to sleep in your own bed the night before, you’re just a little more familiar with the field and you know how the field plays. It’s psychological probably more than anything else.”
GW 11, Fordham 8
GW came back from six runs behind to beat Fordham in the first game of a doubleheader Saturday.
Trailing 6-0, GW touched up Fordham starter Colin Young for seven runs in the fourth inning on a grand slam by Mike Roberts and a three-run shot by Adam Belicic.
Fordham responded with a pair of runs in the top of the fifth to regain the lead at 8-7, but GW stormed back in the bottom half of the inning to take the lead for good. Ted Currle led off the inning with a walk, and Eric Mitchell doubled him in to tie the game. Roberts then got on base with a single and Dan Rouhier tripled to right field to knock both runners in.
Young (0-3), who was the pitcher who defeated GW in the A-10 Tournament last season, took the loss for the Rams.
“It was a little sweet revenge to get a victory off him and put up some runs off him because he’s one of the premiere pitchers in this conference,” Walter said. “He’s going to win a lot of ballgames.”
GW came away with the win despite Colonial starter Bryan Beggs digging an early hole for the team. He allowed only one run to score in the second inning when Fordham had the bases loaded with no outs.
But Beggs was not so lucky in the fourth, when he surrendered a single and two hits to load the bases again. Robert Sprague battled his way to a full count against Beggs before hitting a grand slam that extended Fordham’s lead to 5-0.
The Rams added another run in the inning to lead by six runs, but the Colonials erupted in the bottom of the fourth. The Colonials loaded the bases for Roberts, who came to the plate and hit a grand slam to centerfield for his third home run of the season.
The next batter, Rouhier, settled for a double after he hit a ball off the top of the centerfield fence. Joe Beichert later drew a walk, and Belicic cleared the bases again with a home run.
“Those two guys, when we need big hits, those are the guys we like to see up there,” Walter said.
GW 6, Fordham 2
GW’s Joe Beichert became the program’s career leader in home runs as GW took the first game of the series with the Rams Friday at Barcroft Park.
His 39th career homer, a solo shot, came in the third inning and extended GW’s lead to 3-1. Beichert surpassed the school record of 38 set by Allen Browning (1990-1993).
After giving up a run in the top of the first to Fordham, the Colonials answered with a single run in each of the first three innings to take the lead.
The Rams closed the gap to 3-2 with a run in the fourth but would get no closer. Eric Mitchell hit a two-run homer in a three-run sixth that would seal the victory for the Colonials.
Adam Belicic (5-3) earned his second straight win by going the distance in the seven-inning game for GW, striking out seven while scattering seven hits.
GW 2, Howard 1
Dan Rouhier singled in the winning run in the 10th inning to lift GW to a victory over the Bison Wednesday at Barcroft Park.
GW took an early lead when Adam Belicic hit a solo home run. Howard (9-16) responded with four hits in the fourth inning, but managed to get only one run. The game remained tied until Rouhier’s game-winning hit came with no outs and the bases loaded.
Freshman starter Mike O’Connor worked seven strong innings for the Colonials, giving up just one run on five hits and recording six strikeouts. Ari Zagaris (2-4) picked up the win by limiting Howard to just one hit in the final two innings.
Rouhier and freshman Matt Krimmel each collected a pair of hits for GW.
GW 5, Richmond 3
The Colonials held Richmond scoreless over the final five innings to win after giving up three runs in the fourth inning Tuesday at Barcroft Park.
Clint Sells (1-1) picked up his first win of the season by pitching a scoreless seventh inning. Ari Zagaris shut the Spiders down in the late innings to earn his second save of the season, allowing no hits and recording two strikeouts in the final two innings.
The Spiders (17-7) took a 3-2 lead in the fourth, but freshman Mike Bassett tied the game in the sixth with a solo homer. GW pushed ahead with two runs in the seventh and would never lose the lead. Junior Ryan Dacey singled to centerfield to plate the go-ahead run, and Joe Beichert tacked on an insurance run with another single.
