Even the sprinklers that came on in the middle of the 11th inning of Sunday’s final could not dampen the spirit of the first-annual Capital Classic club baseball tournament. The University of Virginia club finally beat out North Carolina State 9-8 at close to 10:30 p.m. at the University of Maryland, capping off an exciting two days of club baseball during which teams from all over the East Coast competed.

With the scored tied 8-8 in the top of the 12th inning, visiting UVA singled in a run and held off N.C. State in the bottom of the inning.

GW baseball club president Brett Kaplan said the game “wrapped up the tourney very nicely.”

The Capital Classic is not only the first club baseball tournament in D.C. history, it is also the biggest fall tournament in the nation. GW club presidents Kaplan and Mike Schwimmer, along with University of Maryland club baseball President Mitch Ayes, planned the tournament, held Oct. 4-5 at D.C. and College Park fields.

Kaplan said the weekend was successful, and plans are already in the works for next year’s tournament.

“The tournament was a complete success and we got a lot of great feedback from everyone of the teams that came,” Kaplan said. “I think this tournament can be a staple for our University for years to come.”

Twelve teams competed in the inaugural tournament, including Pennsylvania State University and UVA, two teams that made the club baseball World Series last year. Kaplan said there were about 250 player participants in total. He said he invited 80 teams by e-mail and the first 12 that responded were signed up to play.

“The turnout has been better than we expected, and there is a high level of competition,” Ayes said.

GW’s team was ousted in the first day of the tournament after losing 10-9 to the University of Georgia. The Colonials started out strong behind five solid innings from starting pitcher Matt Ryan, but blew a five run lead in the seventh inning.

“We played well until we gave up all those runs,” Kaplan said.

Earlier in the day the team powered by Howard 15-14 led by solid pitching from law student John Lovrich. Schwimmer got the win in relief in a thriller that that ended with freshman Dave Meo’s two-out base hit that scored two runs. Kaplan said his team’s loss did not dampen its spirits.

“While we were upset that we lost, it was fun because we held nothing against our opponent,” he said. “(Georgia) drove 10 hours to play ball, lost to N.C. State today in semis and walked out having a great time. I think that’s how the tournament was summed up.”

Kaplan and Schwimmer founded GW Club Baseball last year and also play, coach and co-captain the team.

Working on a limited budget, Kaplan and Schwimmer have worked to build a program that will continue to thrive. The team is made up of 25 players, many of which have been recruited by other colleges for baseball. The program seems to have worked well because of two things – a highly competitive level of baseball with a schedule that is not as time consuming as a varsity sport.

“Club is nice because I get a chance to play ball and not have to practice six hours a day,” sophomore catcher Tom Gooding, of Minnesota, said. “It’s good that baseball doesn’t rule my life here.”

Sophomore infielder Jeremy Gardener agreed.

“The competition is solid, much better than high school baseball, and we go on road trips like the varsity does, but at the same time it’s more relaxed and less stressful for us,” he said
—Lauren Silva contributed to this report