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The GW Hatchet

AN INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SERVING THE GW COMMUNITY SINCE 1904

The GW Hatchet

Serving the GW Community since 1904

The GW Hatchet

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Officials name senior vice president, chief of staff
By Fiona Riley, Assistant News Editor • March 26, 2024

Baseball weathers stormy week

The GW baseball team missed six straight games due to inclement weather last weekend, but when the sun finally came out, so did the Colonial bats. The buff and blue drove in 23 runs in two days to win three straight games, improving their season record to 19-7.

The Colonials took a doubleheader from Towson Wednesday in Towson, in Towson, Md. and beat Norfolk Tuesday in Norfolk, Va., battling what head coach Tom Walter described as the negative effects of missed games.

“We were sluggish on Tuesday and the time off contributed to that,” he said. “But we got some games under our belt and hopefully we’ll have a good practice (Thursday). We’re looking forward to the weekend.”

Walter also said the bad weather caused him to change his game plan for the team’s mid-week games and he hopes it will not have a lingering effect.

“It’s definitely changed our approach,” he said. “We like to play some of the other guys during the week but with the time off we’ve had to play the main guys since they’re not getting the work on the weekend.”

One of these “main guys,” junior Jeff Fertitta, led GW to a 6-4 victory over Towson in the second game of the double header with two hits, two RBIs and a stolen base. Sophomore Nate CasaGrande got the win and classmate Nick Koken pitched one scoreless inning for the save.

After falling behind early 4-3, GW went ahead for good in the third inning. With three singles and a sacrifice fly by Fertitta, the team pushed across two runs to secure the win.

GW scored three runs in the first inning, capped off when senior co-captain Chris Barry stole home on a double steal with sophomore Anthony Raglani.

In the first game of the day, senior Travis Crowder led GW’s three-run seventh inning rally from a 5-4 deficit to win the game 7-5. Senior Tony Dokoupil and freshman Matt Owens each added hits in the inning to secure the victory.

The team scored three runs in the first inning behind a three-run home run by Fertitta and Dokoupil homered in the second to round out GW’s scoring. Freshman Josh Wilkie got the win in relief.

Earlier in the week, GW beat Norfolk State 10-5 in a 13-inning marathon, GW’s longest game of the season. The teams combined for 29 hits and GW used seven pitchers, with junior Dennis Gramolini picking up the win.

“Gramolini threw five scoreless innings in relief for us and was the star of the game,” Walter said. “He was just outstanding and was the difference in the game.”

After playing to a 5-5 tie through 13 innings, GW broke out for five runs to take the final lead. Dokoupil led off the final inning with a double and scored the go-ahead run when Koken reached base on an error. The team went on to score four more runs in the inning behind a single by Raglani and a sacrifice fly by sophomore Ryan Roberson.

GW picked up runs earlier in the game on solo homers by Roberson, his fifth of the year, and senior Travis Crowder, his third.

The Colonials will travel to Olean, N.Y. this weekend for a three-game series at defending Atlantic 10 East champion St. Bonaventure.

“We’re very excited about this weekend’s series,” Walter said. “They’re the team to beat in that division, so we’re definitely looking forward to it and I’m sure they are, too.”

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