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Friday, May 24, 2013 6:28 p.m.

Baseball’s surprising season capped with blowout loss

by The GW Hatchet

This post was written by Hatchet reporter Josh Solomon.

GW gave up 13 runs, surrendered 20 hits and committed three errors Friday in their season-ending loss to Saint Louis.

Ugly numbers, certainly. But despite the onslaught of offense by the Billkens – and the Colonials’ silent bats – GW did not walk away from the Charlotte stadium ashamed.

Instead, the team felt like they beat the odds, winning their first playoff game since 2004 after entering the season as the last-place pick in the 15-team conference and then starting a dreadful 0-9.

The Colonials finished the season winning eight of their last nine games to improve to 15-9 in league play, earning them the fifth seed for postseason play and their best conference finish since 2005.

All of this, ultimately led to the Colonials exit from the A-10 tournament as a final four team. They were in the mix with the top teams from the division, including a Saint Louis team that is believed to make the College World Series regardless of whether they win and qualify for it.

The Billkens were the number one seed, but were upset early in their matchup with fourth-seeded Xavier in the second round, the same Musketeers team that upended GW in their first round matchup. The chain of events sent Saint Louis into the losers bracket in this double elimination format, setting them up with an eventual game against the streaking Colonials.

GW was fresh off a walk-off win earlier in the day against three-seeded Rhode Island. Ritchie elected to go with senior Justin Albright to start the game, instead of an array of other arms, including freshman Max Kaplow, one of the possible starters.

Albright, the team’s MVP, has led the Colonials all season, with the team often hinging on his performance at the plate. Albright normally found himself on the mound during middle of the week games as an extra arm who could match up and work hard against other teams’ mid-week starters.

But the graduating senior was not able to match up well with Saint Louis’ potent offense. A leadoff double down the left-field line started the trouble for Albright and the Colonials and before GW could even think that this game was going to be a tight one, the Billkens had bopped the ball all around the GW outfield. Four doubles, five runs, five hits one error and one out later, Albright was bounced from the game.

GW did fight back after the seven-run onslaught, scoring one run after senior Tyler McCarthy singled to right center to leadoff the inning, took second on a wild pitch and then scored on a single by freshman Eric Kalman.

The Colonials would tack on just one more run in the fourth inning, courtesy of a junior Owen Bieghtol leadoff double and sacrifice fly to right field from senior Derek Brown, but the Billikens would tack on even more themselves.

Ritchie threw in several pitchers to piece together the game. Luke Staub finished up the first inning, followed by freshman Bobby LeWarne in the second.

Kaplow finally found his way to the mound in the third inning. He had yet to pitch in a league game since April 6 after developing arm fatigue, following throwing two consecutive complete games earlier in the season.

His first inning back was not as sharp as he might have wanted it to be though, giving up two runs on three hits, including one wild pitch to score a run. He settled down over his next two innings, giving up no hits and only rendering one base runner off a misplayed ball in the infield.

Three other pitchers came in to finish up, making the grand total of seven Colonial pitchers, to the Billkens’ one, who threw a complete game with seven strikeouts.

GW finally got to Saint Louis’ pitcher in the ninth – sort of. Singles from Brown and Kalman, and a walk set up a RBI single for Albright, his only hit in the game. They pushed across just one more on an error, before the game ultimately ended in their 13-4 defeat.

Saint Louis will move onto to play Xavier, the same team that beat both GW and the Billkens earlier in the tournament. They will also most likely find themselves in even further postseason ball at the College World Series.

As for the Colonials, the loss wraps up a 26-32 season, with a most impressive 15-9 record in the A-10 that saw them jump up from a last place finish in 2012. They rode their 11 graduating seniors to their first A-10 championship appearance since 2006, and their first postseason win since 2004.

With several freshmen having started in the field this season, and 20 recruits coming in Ritchie’s first recruiting class, there’s one thing for sure: They won’t be picked to finish last next year.

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Tuesday, May 21, 2013 4:45 p.m.

Gregg Ritchie named A-10 Coach of the Year

by Nick Ong

Head coach Gregg Ritchie earned the A-10′s Coach of the Year Tuesday after helping lead the Colonials back from an 0-9 start. Hatchet File Photo by Delaney Walsh | Photo Editor

Baseball head coach Gregg Ritchie earned the Atlantic 10′s top coaching honors Tuesday, less than a week after watching his team clinch its first conference title since 2006 and leading the Colonials back after an 0-9 start to the year.

In just his first season at his alma mater after a 25-year stint in professional baseball, most recently as the hitting coach for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Ritchie was voted this year’s award recipient by the other league coaches.

He becomes just the third GW head coach to receive the award, following in the footsteps of former coaches John Castleberry (1989) and Tom Walter (1998).

Coming into this season, GW was slotted to again finish at last place in the conference, after finishing last in the A-10 (20-35, 6-18) the year before. Instead, with Ritchie at the helm, the Colonials overcame a 0-9 start to win 15 league games, including eight of their last nine, and grab the fifth seed heading into postseason play.

In addition, GW finished second in the A-10 in stolen bases with 104, garnered a 1.55-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio – their best since 2001– and tallied just 238 strikeouts on the year, the fewest in the conference.

The team’s nine-game swing from last season puts the Colonials in position to compete for their fifth league title in program history and their first since 2002.

This year’s tournament will be held at Charlotte’s Robert and Mariam Hayes Stadium in Charlotte, N.C. The Colonials will take on No.4 seed Xavier in the first game Wednesday at 10 a.m.
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Saturday, May 18, 2013 3:28 p.m.

Baseball secures fifth seed in A-10 tournament with La Salle sweep

by Nick Ong

Senior Justin Albright throws a pitch on Saturday against La Salle. Albright earned the win in the game and helped grab the sweep for the Colonials. Delaney Walsh | Hatchet Photo Editor

Less than three weeks ago, the Colonials stood with a 7-8 conference record, a distant ninth place in the Atlantic-10 standings and an unlikely playoff contender.

From many perspectives, it was the story of typical struggles under a first-year head coach, and of a rebuilding program still trying to find its legs.

Dayton, VCU, and La Salle – three conference foes – were all that remained on the schedule. Just finish out the season strong, bring in the new recruits, and start fresh next year.

But that’s not how the 2013 Colonials wanted to be remembered.

Instead, over the last 18 days, they’ve fought for a Dayton sweep, a VCU series win, and with Saturday’s 4-1 victory in their final regular season game, a sweep of La Salle.

The Colonials now sit with a 15-9 conference record, a remarkable four-place jump into the five spot of the playoff standings. They will face fourth-seeded Xavier in Charlotte, N.C. Wednesday.

“We knew we had to win a majority of the latter half of our season and conference games to have a shot to move forward,” senior Tyler McCarthy said. “We were able to lock it up yesterday and improve our seeding today, so we’re really excited about it.”

The Colonials have gone 8-1 over that stretch, led by McCarthy, senior Justin Albright and junior Owen Beightol, giving GW the chance to add on to their second-most A-10 titles in league history.

“I think we’ve come a lot closer as a team overall and when we won some conference games, I think they started to believe that, ‘Hey, we got a shot at this if we play well,’” associate head coach Tom Sheridan said. ”And over the last month, we’ve played good baseball. Even some of the games we lost we’ve been competitive on a daily basis.”

In Saturday’s season finale, senior day, head coach Gregg Ritchie turned to Albright to take the mound.

Coming in with only five pitching appearances on the year and a pedestrian 6.41 ERA, Albright surprised everyone but his team, maneuvering through a few thick jams to earn the win for himself and his fellow seniors.

“The most important thing for me at least, is that he’s [Albright’s] such a competitor and whatever he has to give that day is what you can always count on from him,” Sheridan said. “He did a great job, anytime he’s pitched for us this year he’s battled, and he continued to do that.”

Albright battled through one such jam in the bottom of the second, after letting the first two batters reach base on a walk and hit-by-pitch. A sacrifice bunt left runners on second and third with one out, and the Explorers threatening to end the senior’s outing early.

Albright responded by inducing a ground out back to the mound and getting the final batter of the inning to strike out looking. No runs and no hits for the inning.

“I just had to focus up a little bit harder and bear down and make good pitches so that they would get themselves out in a situation like that,” Albright said.

The Colonials backed up Albright’s resilient pitching performance with some run support of their own in the next inning.

After a double by senior Matthew Murakami to lead off the third, Matthieu Robèrt’s single to left field allowed Murakami to come around a score. With the bases loaded later in the inning, junior Owen Beightol hit a sac fly to right field that allowed senior Ryan Hickey to score, giving GW a 2-0 lead.

Albright got himself into another jam in the fourth, after two singles and a walk left the bases loaded with only one out. He struck out the next batter, appearing on his way to again ending the inning unscathed, but a single through the left side allowed one La Salle runner to score.

The damage luckily ended there thanks to a pinpoint throw from Beightol in left field and a controversial play at the plate that called out the second runner.

From there, the Colonials cruised on forward to the sweep, as Albright seemed to get stronger as the game went on, going three-up-three down in the fifth and sixth innings.

He finished the day with the win and a line of seven innings pitched, four hits allowed, one earned run, two walks and three strikeouts.

Thankful for his teammates over these past four years, he said he was proud of the way the team scrapped and executed their way to victory and to the playoffs.

“We’re not a power team, we’re not gonna drive home runs out of the park, but we’re gonna play small ball, score runs every inning, try to chip away, and good pitching has been our success all year,” Albright said.

Sticking to that strategy, the Colonials added some insurance runs for Albright, scoring one run in the bottom of the fourth off a single from Robèrt, giving him a total of two RBIs in the game.

Then in the eighth, after a double, single and walk loaded the bases, a sac-fly from Murakami allowed McCarthy to tag-up and score from third.

The game was left to the lately unhittable bullpen duo of senior Kenny O’Brien and junior Craig Lejeune, who together pitched a scoreless final two innings to get Lejeune his 10th save of the year.

Albright found his usual success on the offensive side of the plate, garnering one hit and three stolen bases, good enough for 28 steals on the year and a tie for second in the A-10.

Ritchie declined to comment on today’s sweep of the Explorers. He has not spoken to The Hatchet in over a month, after he said his team played “uninspired, ‘no care’ baseball” following an April loss. Ritchie was hired last offseason after working as the hitting coach for the Pittsburgh Pirates

The Colonials will now move on to the A-10 tournament, held at Charlotte’s Hayes Stadium from May 22 to 25. The format is a bracket-style, double-elimination tournament, with GW expected to start junior Luke Staub in their first round game against fourth-seeded Xavier at 10 a.m. Wednesday.

GW has not squared off against the Musketeers this season, but the Colonials have momentum on their side as they enter the tournament.

“We’re happy we made the tournament, but we don’t want to be done there. We don’t want to just show up, lose two games and go home. We’d like to make an impact,” McCarthy said. “The moves we’ve made in the last couple of weeks have shown that we can pretty much stick with anyone. So we want to turn some heads and stick it to everyone.”

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Friday, May 17, 2013 6:48 p.m.

Baseball headed to A-10 playoffs for first time in seven years

by The GW Hatchet

First baseman Derek Brown forces out a VCU batter last weekend. The Colonials rode a 3-1 win against La Salle Friday to their first postseason appearance since 2006. Cameron Lancaster | Contributing Photo Editor

This post was written by Hatchet reporter Josh Solomon.

Zero wins. Nine losses. The inaugural season with head coach Gregg Ritchie and the newly renovated Barctoft Park was underway, but looked to be going nowhere quickly. Maybe it would take a few years to build a program that was capable of finding a winning season.

Zero trips. Seven years. GW baseball hasn’t been to the conference playoffs since 2006, and it seemed like seniors such as Tyler McCarthy and Kenny O’Brien would have to wait to come back and watch from the stands to see another GW team make it to the Atlantic 10 tournament.

That all changed after Friday’s 3-1 victory.

O’Brien would come pitch in relief to earn the win on the mound and McCarthy was involved in all three runs as the seniors found a way to finally make it the postseason.

With GW’s (24-30, 14-9) win over La Salle (24-26,15-8), and losses from both Saint Joseph’s and Butler, the Colonials clinched a playoff berth – even moving up into sixth place in the standing – finally making it back to the A-10 tournament.

“[Playoffs] mean everything to us. We very nearly missed it my freshmen year and it’s been a horrible taste in our mouth ever since. Just having something to play for going into your final week that means anything,” McCarthy said in release.

Friday’s game started off with heightened importance following a series opening 10-3 winning against LaSalle on Thursday. In this second game of three against the Explorers, the Colonials knew that a win would almost guarantee them a playoff spot – the only thing they needed to do was play their game and do some scoreboard watching later.

GW grabbed the lead early off the bat of a McCarthy RBI single in the first inning, scoring junior Owen Beightol, who had reached on a hit by a pitch and then stole second base.

The 1-0 lead would hold until the fifth inning, thanks to the support of junior Aaron Weisberg’s pitching. He gave up the Explorers’ lone run off of a one out RBI single to left field.

Weisberg found himself in trouble again in the seventh inning after allowing a leadoff single, a stolen base and then another single. With runners on first and third with one out, Ritchie opted to bring in his side-arming lefty, O’Brien. Weisberg left the game with a stat line of 6 1/3 innings pitched, four hits, one run, three walks and six strikeouts, keeping his team in the game the whole way through.

O’Brien struck out the first batter he faced and the second batter popped out to third base, ending the scare. O’Brien would go on to pitch a scoreless eighth inning, and would eventually earn the win on the day, his fourth of the season.

The bottom of the eighth inning started off with freshman Nolan Lodden reaching on an error, one of two costly errors the Explorers committed despite outhitting the Colonials eight to seven. A sacrifice bunt moved Lodden to second and then a single by McCarthy set up runners on first and third with one out for sophomore Xavier Parkmond to put his team ahead.

“He started me off with two fastballs, one was a strike and one was a ball and I knew he was going to come back with something off speed so I was just sitting on it and, hey, I got a single,” Parkmond said in a release.

Parkmond drove in two runs with his single to left-center, finding the gap and putting the Colonials up for good. All that was needed was the save from their reliable closer Craig LeJeune, who struck out the first two batters of the ninth and then recorded the final out on a grounder to second base.

“I know a lot of them haven’t gone to the tournament or even have a winning season, and to be the guy to provide the winning hit is awesome. They’re great guys and with all the new changes going on, I think we’re headed in a good direction and a good spot for the tournament,” Parkmond said.

The only thing left was to watch the scoreboard and see both Saint Joseph’s and Butler lose to secure the Colonials’ playoff bid as they head into the final game of the regular season – senior day.

“You know having to clinch and being able to enjoy senior day tomorrow, a lot less pressure and go out there and have a good time. It’s something we’ve worked so hard for four years that we are finally being able to experience,” McCarthy said.

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Thursday, May 16, 2013 6:39 p.m.

Baseball take crucial game one in final A-10 series

by The GW Hatchet

Left-hander Kenny O’Brien pitches in a game last weekend against VCU. The Colonials kept their playoff hopes alive Thursday with a win against La Salle. Cameron Lancaster | Contributing Photo Editor

This post was written by Hatchet staff writer Brennan Murray.

One swing of the bat and the Colonials were down 3-0. It was only the top of the first.

In a series that GW (23-30, 13-9 A-10) likely needs to win to keep its season alive, the three-run La Salle homer was a disheartening blow to start things off for the club in the series opener.

From there on though, the Colonials’ resilience became the story. In the bottom half of the first, GW upped the ante by plating four runs of its own, shredding the Explorers’ early momentum on the way.

The home team then added six more over the next six innings, making for nine unanswered runs – an impressive feat en route to a 10-4 comeback victory.

After allowing the three earned runs in the first, junior Luke Staub settled down and let his offense climb back in the game. He held La Salle to just one run over the next seven innings, finishing his eight-inning effort with a total of five strikeouts.

Three GW batters turned in multiple-hit performances to aid the comeback and put the game out of reach of the Explorers. The first was senior shortstop Matthew Murakami, who went 3-4 in the game with four RBI. His double off the wall in the bottom of the first drove in a pair and gave the Colonials a pivotal 4-3 lead.

Freshman catcher Mathieu Robért and junior Owen Beightol added two hits apiece as well, together contributing two more RBI.

After La Salle scored a run in the fifth, Staub and junior Craig LeJeune kept the Explorers’ bats silent through the end. LeJeune pitched a scoreless ninth to make the final score official.

With only two days remaining on the conference schedule and three teams jockeying to make the seventh-place cutoff, the Colonials need a favorable outcome to survive the weekend.

Here are the scenarios for GW to make its first postseason appearance since 2005:

If the Colonials sweep the Explorers, they will guarantee themselves a trip to the Tar Heel State with the seventh spot in the standings.

If they win only one more, eighth-placed Butler and Saint Joseph’s, who currently own 12-10 conference records, would have a chance to force a tiebreaker if either is able to win its respective series.

Lastly, if GW goes cold and drops its final two contests, a series win for either the Bulldogs or the Hawks would end the Colonials’ tournament bid.

Game two of the series versus La Salle is slated for 1:00 p.m. on Friday.

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Tuesday, May 14, 2013 4:10 p.m.

Head baseball coach’s first recruiting effort notches 20 players

by Nick Ong

The baseball team cheers on their teammates during a game this season. The team will look a lot different next year with the new members of coach Ritchie’s recruiting class. Hatchet File Photo by Cameron Lancaster | Contributing Photo Editor

Head coach Gregg Ritchie announced a 20-player recruiting class for 2013-2014 Tuesday, including top shortstop and pitching prospects who will help fill major holes for the team next season.

Ritchie, a former Pittsburgh Pirates hitting coach in his first year at the helm of the baseball team, inked players from 10 different states, including No. 14-ranked catcher in Florida high schools Paul Proenza and No. 6-ranked shortstop in New Jersey Elijah Kashi.

“This recruiting class will give us a tremendous upgrade in athleticism, speed, size and strength,”  Ritchie said in a release Monday.

Other recruits include Atlantic Community High School’s Cody Bryant, Dematha Catholic’s Colin Gibbons and Seton Hall Prep’s Kevin Mahala.  A full list of the recruits is here.

GW (22-30, 12-9 A-10), on the edge of qualifying for the postseason, will lose its top two hitters next year: seniors Tyler McCarthy and Justin Albright. The team has nine seniors on its current roster.

GW finishes Ritchie’s first regular season at GW with their last series this weekend against La Salle. The team is tied for the seventh and final conference playoff spot with Saint Joseph’s.

The team is in the midst of rebuilding efforts after six straight years without reaching postseason player.

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Tuesday, May 7, 2013 11:57 a.m.

A-10 honors for Kalman, Albright put exclamation point on baseball’s big week

by The GW Hatchet

This post was written by Hatchet staff writer Brennan Murray.

As if their three-game trouncing of Dayton wasn’t enough, the Colonials picked up more good news Monday when the Atlantic 10 awarded them two individual league honors.

The conference named GW’s freshman Eric Kalman A-10 Rookie of the Week, while also honoring senior Justin Albright with his second Player of the Week award.

Senior Justin Albright mans shortstop for the Colonials during a game earlier this season. Albright was named A-10 Player of the Week. Hatchet File Photo by Cameron Lancaster | Hatchet Photographer 

Both Colonials have been on a tear lately. Over GW’s 4-1 week, Albright and Kalman have hit .476 and .550, respectively. Against Dayton on Friday and Saturday, Albright strung together consecutive three-hit games and also finished the series with three stolen bases. He ranks third in the A-10 with 22 steals this season.

The pitcher-second baseman ranks first on his team with a .338 batting average in A-10 games and also outranks his fellow Colonials in hits, doubles, slugging percentage and walks.

Kalman knocked one more hit than Albright this week, his 11 base-knocks just one part of his overall stellar performance at the plate. He slugged .800 during the five-game period, driving in an impressive nine batters on the way.

The award was Kalman’s first A-10 weekly honor.

The Colonials will host VCU this weekend at Barcroft Park in their penultimate A-10 showdown of the season.

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Sunday, May 5, 2013 7:40 p.m.

Baseball sweeps Dayton in key A-10 series

by The GW Hatchet

Senior outfielder Tyler McCarthy sends the ball to first base in a March game. He collected two hits with an RBI in GW’s Sunday win at Dayton. Hatchet File Photo by Cameron Lancaster | Contributing Photo Editor

This post was written by Hatchet reporter Josh Solomon.

One spot away from qualifying for postseason play, the Colonials were in dire need of some W’s against Dayton this weekend. Thanks to clutch hitting and timely pitching, GW got three.

Junior Luke Staub carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning and pitched an eight-inning shutout in the Colonials’ 12-0 thumping in game one. Down two runs through six innings in the second game, hot-hitting freshman Eric Kalman knocked an RBI single to drive in the eighth, the winning run in a 7-4 game.

The comeback theme continued Sunday.

Again down two in game three, this time in the third inning with two outs, the Colonials rallied, using an RBI double by senior Justin Albright to jump ahead and grab the 7-5 win.

Not all easy wins, but GW (20-29, 10-8) took down Dayton (9-34-1, 3-18) for their second Atlantic 10 series sweep of the year, bolstering their postseason hopes as GW heads into the final conference series against VCU and La Salle.

The first game of the series – against last year’s A-10 tournament champion and this year’s last place team – showed off GW’s ability to stifle an opponent and slug their way to success. Staub allowed a leadoff single in the sixth to end his no-hit bid, but he quickly erased the baserunner, picking him off at first base. Staub would go on to pitch eight innings of shutout ball, yielding two hits and two walks, while striking out four and winning his third game of the season.

Meanwhile, the Colonials matched their single season high with 16 hits to help drive in 12 runs. The streaking Kalman led in the RBI department, driving in five runs while going 3-3 at the plate, with one walk and two runs scored. He even added his first career home run – a solo shot in the fifth inning that put GW up 6-0.

Kalman is hitting .550 with nine RBIs and a .800 slugging percentage in his last five games.

Three other Colonials’ hitters recorded at least three hits:  seniors Albright and Tyler McCarthy who both also had an RBI, and senior Matthew Murakami, who had four hits, two runs scored and one RBI.

The Colonials would need those hot bats to continue in games two and three, as the pitching staff gave up nine runs over the two days.

Junior Aaron Weisberg did not have his best stuff on Saturday, going only two innings after being tagged for two runs in the first inning. GW was down early and remained that way as they entered the seventh still down 2-0.  With two outs, a seemingly harmless ground ball from senior Ryan Hickey turned into two runs to tie the game after a throwing error by the Flyers’ shortstop.

After a perfect bottom half of the inning, GW poured on five runs in the eighth to put the game out of reach. McCarthy broke the tie with an RBI double, and then Kalman singled in a run to give the Colonials a 5-2 lead, ultimately all they would need.

Sunday, the Colonials once again faced a seesaw battle, going back-and-forth with the Flyers for the lead. GW scored the first run this time, only to watch Dayton take the lead in the bottom half of the third inning with three runs of their own.

After retaking the lead in the fifth, the Colonials used some well-executed baseball to tack onto their 4-3 advantage in the seventh inning. After a leadoff single, a bunt single followed by sacrifice bunt placed runners on second and third with one out.

Three would eventually score with a mixture of luck and execution: Senior Derek Brown drove in the first run off an error, Kalman singled in a run, and Murakami laid down a successful squeeze bunt.

McCarthy started the game for GW, but was taken out in the third for freshman Bobby LeWarne, who won his second game on five innings of two-run, two-hit, six-strikeout relief work.

The run support from the seventh was ultimately what allowed Lewarne to win the game and junior Craig LeJeune to earn his sixth save of the season and second of the series.

The Colonials still remain in ninth place after the sweep, with 10 conference wins. The top eight teams make the tourney. Currently five A-10 teams have 10 wins: Rhode Island, Richmond, Saint Joseph’s, Butler and GW. Each team has two more regular season conference series to determine who’s in and who’s out.

 

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Thursday, May 2, 2013 6:30 a.m.

GW pitchers keep Navy at bay

by The GW Hatchet
This post was written by Hatchet staff writer Brennan Murray

Despite their recent inconsistencies, the Colonials (17-29, 7-8 A-10) showed yet again Wednesday that they can find success when they stick to their strengths.

Senior Ryan Hickey keeps his eye on the ball as he prepares to swing during a game earlier this season. Hatchet File Photo by Samuel Klein | Contributing Photo Editor

The club understands it has the pieces to win games, but perhaps even more so, that winning consistently relies on its ability to make those pieces fit together.

GW exhibited that solid brand of congruency in Annapolis, Md. yesterday afternoon, where the squad took down Navy 5-2 in its last non-conference test of the season.

Coming off two consecutive losses – a nine-run defeat on Sunday and a 6-5 loss to George Mason Tuesday – the Colonials turned in a stellar combined effort that showed off another young arm, as well as some veteran offensive prowess.

In the first start of his collegiate career, freshman right-hander Jacob Williams compiled an impressive 5 2-3 innings on the hill, allowing only two runs while striking out four and giving up only one walk.

When Williams came out in the sixth, the bullpen was there to back him up. Over the final 3 1-3 innings, senior Tyler McCarthy and freshmen Luke Olson and Bobby LeWarne shut down the Midshipmen, allowing no runs on just a single base knock.

GW’s bats came through to complement the strong pitching. In the fifth, after senior Ryan Hickey reached base on a passed ball and senior Justin Albright was hit by a pitch, the two pulled off a double-steal to move runners into scoring position for freshman Nolan Lodden. After Lodden drew a walk, junior Owen Beightol ripped a clutch single to extend the Colonials’ lead to 2-0.

Beightol, who went 1-4 on the day, drove in another run on a sacrifice fly in the top of the third.

While GW’s pitchers kept Navy at bay, the Colonials continued to collect insurance. In the eighth, senior Derek Brown drove McCarthy in on an RBI double before freshman Eric Kalman knocked in Brown with an RBI single.

LeWarne, who struggled against James Madison Sunday, pitched a perfect eighth and ninth innings, tallying three strikeouts on the way to his first collegiate save.

For GW, it was a win that reaffirmed a lot about the club’s desired identity.

The underclassmen, though young, boasted talent on both sides of the diamond. And more experienced guys, like McCarthy and Beightol, showed that they have the skill and know-how to bring the team’s strengths together.

Through athletics communications, head coach Gregg Ritchie declined to comment on GW’s performance.

The Colonials open their third-to-last A-10 series with a game at Dayton on Friday. They currently sit in ninth place in the conference standings. Only eight teams will advance to the A-10 tournament in Charlotte, which starts May 22.

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Thursday, April 25, 2013 8:14 a.m.

McCarthy pushes Colonials to victory with arm and bat

by The GW Hatchet

This post was written by Hatchet staff writer Brennan Murray.

When one player dominates a game from both the pitcher’s mound and the batter’s box, the recognition typically gravitates towards him.

Then-sophomore Owen Beightol slides safely into third base last season. Beightol currently holds a nine game hit streak.  Hatchet File Photo

For senior Tyler McCarthy and the Colonials (15-26, 7-8 A-10) on Wednesday night, the storyline was no different.

McCarthy hurled eight strong innings from the hill, allowing four runs and fanning four UMBC batters.  Then from the plate, he knocked in three, almost single-handedly making up for the blemishes he allowed on the other side.

But there was another factor that helped GW’s non-conference ousting of UMBC. Senior Justin Albright and junior Owen Beightol extended their hitting streaks to seven and nine games, respectively.

If Beightol’s three RBIs paved the way for a Colonials victory, then Albright’s hot streak, during which he has gone 19-31 for a scalding .631 average, indicates that GW’s bats have awoken, and at a crucial time.

The Colonials are sitting in the middle of the pack in the A-10, a spot that will likely advance them to the conference tournament barring a fast downfall. With only three more A-10 series left in the season, the Colonials have a chance to buy themselves a more favorable tournament seeding if they continue to put runs together.

Only two Colonials in the starting lineup failed to reach base on Wednesday.  GW established a lead early and built on it often. With two in the first, third, and fourth innings, the Colonials headed into the bottom of the fourth with a commanding 6-0 lead.

Though McCarthy yielded a pair in the home half of the inning, GW poured on the offense again in the sixth and ninth innings. After coming into a tough spot in the bottom of the ninth, junior Craig LeJeune eventually shut the door on the Retrievers.

On the scoreboard, the Colonials’ offensive success showed: 12-5 GW.

Head coach Gregg Ritchie declined to offer a phone interview on his team’s win.

On Saturday, the Colonials will host non-conference foe James Madison for a doubleheader at Barcroft Park.

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