This post was written by Hatchet reporter Joshua Solomon.
The Colonials could blame their 0-5 start on their stagnant offense or surrendering unearned runs, but they continue to point toward mental toughness.
GW visited USC Upstate for a three game series this weekend at the Spartans’ Harley Field. It dropped both games in the doubleheader Saturday, despite a strong effort by the bullpen to keep GW in the game and then fell in a lopsided affair, 9-3 Sunday.
“It’s not failure,” first-year head coach and former GW baseball standout Gregg Ritchie said. “It’s about learning to play the game clean.”
Ritchie said he wants his players to be more passionate their play. He did say a strength so far was very strong pitching. But the offense, he added, is not aggressive enough, taking too many pitches at the plate and not focusing on the planned approach.
The first of two games on Saturday’s wet doubleheader left GW looking back on two innings gone wrong. The Colonials could not come through in the top of the third with runners on first and second with one out. And the bottom of the fourth unravelled with an error by junior right fielder Owen Beightol, the ball just tipping off the heel of his glove and leading to two unearned runs and a 2-0 lead for USC UPstate.
A 1-2-3 top of the fifth sent junior Aaron Weisberg, making his first start of the season, back to the mount quickly. He retired the first two batters but a walk opened the gate for three base hits for three runs. GW could not rally back against the Spartans, losing by a final score of 5-0.
“It was more about the mentality and approach,” Ritchie said about his team’s goals for its series, rather than specifically focusing on hitting or pitching.
Although a more promising and error free game, the second half of Saturday’s doubleheader ended in a 3-1 loss. Junior Luke Staub pitched into the fifth inning, surrendering three earned runs with six walks in the seven-inning affair, shortened for the doubleheader.
The Colonials capitalized on an error in the top half of the second to score their lone run off a single from junior Brookes Townsend. But Upstate came right back in the bottom half with a double to the centerfield wall to tie up the game. In the fourth, a leadoff walk resulted in a two-run inning which capped the scoring for the game.
With a runner on first and the tying run at the plate, sophomore Xavier Parkmond threatened with a rip over the fence that flew just foul but then struck out on the next pitch. GW could not put together two runs and had to walk away with another loss.
“They just have to pull the bootstraps up,” Ritchie said about the losses. He’s looking for a revamped focus from players that “haven’t had a winning mentality for some time, and it has been some time.”
Sunday’s game the Colonials fell the hardest out of the three in a 9-3 loss.
In that contest, it was troubles at the mound that hit GW the hardest, with its relief pitching allowing runs in three straight innings. Freshmen Danny O’Donnell got the start and gave up four earned runs across in three straight innings. Though the team jumped out to a 3-0 lead, it was shortlived, and the Colonials couldn’t muster any offensive gas for the rest of the game.
But the slow start to the season isn’t an excuse for his team to give up, Ritchie said. He’s determined to push his players to rise to the occasion.
“Are you going to meet the challenge and do it? You got to meet it. We plan on meeting [it],” Ritchie said.
