The GW baseball team won Sunday’s rubber match as the Colonials took two of three games from third-place Dayton last weekend.
GW (22-14, 8-4 Atlantic 10) improved its home-conference record to 5-1 as the team heads to next Friday’s huge doubleheader at Temple. The first-place Owls hold an 8-1 conference mark.
“(The wins) put us in better position for the rest of the season, and it should keep us in second place,” GW head coach Tom Walter said.
GW starter Greg Conden pitched six innings in the team’s 11-3 win Sunday, while Jason Baker pitched six and two-thirds innings in a 7-3 victory Saturday. Dayton (17-18, 4-5 A-10) took Saturday’s second game 3-2. Walter was ejected in the game two loss in the seventh inning after disputing a call at third base. It was only the second ejection of his five-year career at GW.
GW 11, Dayton 3
Sunday, April 15
Greg Conden pitched six strong innings, and Tony Dokoupil homered and drove in three RBIs to lead the Colonials to an 11-3 win over Dayton Sunday. Dokoupil’s two-run homer broke a scoreless tie in the third inning and an RBI double opened the Colonials’ four-run fourth. GW would lead 7-0 before Dayton scored two runs in the top of the sixth inning.
Conden gave up two runs on four hits over six innings with Mike O’Connor and Bryan Beggs pitching the final three innings for the Colonials.
Dayton 3, GW 2
Saturday, April 14
A base-running mistake by Mike Bassett helped end a Colonials scoring threat in GW’s 3-2 game-two loss to Dayton at Barcroft Park Saturday afternoon. Bassett was thrown out trying to advance to third base on a Chris Barry infield groundball in the seventh.
“I thought Bassett hesitated (going to third),” Walter said. “Once he hesitated he should never have gone. It was a close play at third, it could have gone either way.”
GW head coach Tom Walter was ejected for arguing the bang-bang play at third. Walter said his only other coaching ejection came against Towson in 1998.
GW nearly erased a 3-0 deficit with a two-run rally in the seventh inning. Tony Dokoupil led the inning off with a homerun to leftfield. Matt Krimmel then doubled and scored on a Bassett double to right field. On Chris Barry’s groundball, Bassett took off for third but was cut down. Barry reached first base on the fielder’s choice. The inning and game ended when Nick Iovacchini flied out.
The Colonials received solid pitching all day from starter Glen Skutnik. He kept it scoreless through five innings. But in the sixth inning, Dayton pitcher Mike Kerins shook up things with a three-run homer over the centerfield fence. He drove in Brooks Vogel and Brent Berigan. Skutnik retired the final batter on a fly out to end the inning, but the damage had been done as Dayton led 3-0.
Skutnik pitched a solid game keeping it scoreless through five innings. Mike O’Connor relieved Skutnik in the sixth innings and pitched scoreless baseball.
GW 7, Dayton 3
Saturday, April 14
Earlier on Saturday it was a different story as the Colonials defeated Dayton 7-3 in game one. The Colonials got on the scoreboard early with six runs in the first two innings off Dayton starter Michael Rolih and GW coasted to victory. The Colonials collected 10 hits in the game.
In the first inning Travis Crowder singled to right field and advanced to second base on a Tony Brown bunt. Krimmel knocked in Crowder with a single to centerfield. Bassett then hit a single that knocked in Krimmel and lifted GW 2-0 after the first inning.
Jake Wald and Krimmel both hit two-run homeruns in the second inning to extend GW’s lead to 6-0.
GW held its rally for two innings. Despite a small rally in the third inning, Dayton was never able to make a comeback because of GW’s quality pitching.
GW starter Jason Baker picked up his fifth win of the season. He pitched six and two-thirds innings allowing three runs on eight hits.
-Zach Leibowitz and Sean Michael Lee contributed to this report.
