Baseball won all three home games against St. Bonaventure this weekend in their first conference series of the season.

The Colonials (15-13, 3-0 A-10) opened the series with a 12–1 victory on Friday and kept the momentum, winning 10–2 on Saturday and finishing the sweep with a decisive 15–2 victory on Sunday. The Colonials managed 37 runs throughout the weekend while only giving up five.

Redshirt senior right-handed pitcher Harrison Cohen allowed just one run on four hits in the opener’s eight innings, while senior second baseman Noah Levin batted in three runs to close out the series.

Head Coach Gregg Ritchie said he was proud of how committed and seriously the team took each of the three games.

“It’s hard to sweep, period – at any time,” he said. “And to grind it out like our guys did and come prepared, and they committed themselves to playing their best baseball this weekend and kind of relentlessly.”

Game One
Led by Cohen on the mound and redshirt sophomore third baseman Joe Biancone at the plate, the Colonials beat the Bonnies 12–1 Friday.

Junior shortstop Steve DiTomaso, junior right fielder Logan Leax and Biancone all batted in runs in the first inning to start the scoring. Senior catcher Anthony Frechette, Biancone, Ditomaso and Leax all claimed multiple runs batted in during the match.

Biancone singled in the first and eighth innings and doubled in the seventh to score a run each time. He also hit a solo home run in the sixth inning, marking his second this season.

The Bonnies scored a single run in the seventh off a single from redshirt sophomore left fielder Jack Putney but could not overcome the Colonials defense.

Cohen lasted eight innings, giving up only one run, four hits and one walk while striking out 11 to collect his fourth win of the season. Sophomore right-handed pitcher Chris Kahler closed out the final inning, giving up no runs and no hits.

“I thought Harry was especially good,” Ritchie said. “You know, he was a pretty dominant factor there in that game, and obviously that’s what you expect out of a Friday night guy.”

Game Two
A quality start by junior right-handed pitcher Connor Harris led the Colonials to a 10–2 victory in the second game of the series.

The offense got off to a slow stride with the Colonials scoring only one run in the first inning and two runs in the fifth, but a five-run seventh inning combined with a two-run eighth inning pushed them further ahead of the Bonnies.

The Colonials would finish the day with a .324 batting average after collecting 12 hits in 37 at-bats. Redshirt senior first baseman Derek Ripp, Levin and Leax all had multi-hit and RBI games.

The Bonnies managed single-run innings in the third and sixth but once again fell short to the Colonials defense.

Harris pitched six innings, allowing only two runs on six hits while striking out two for his second win of the season. Graduate right-handed pitcher Trevor Kuncl picked up his third save of the season after throwing the last two and a third innings and giving up no runs or hits.

Game Three
The Colonials collected a season-high 21 hits to close out the sweep with a 15–2 win Sunday.

Seven Colonials had multiple hits and five batted in two or more runs. Senior centerfielder Cade Fergus and Ditomaso managed a season-high four hits and three runs each during the onslaught.

Levin and Biancone batted in three runs a piece to lead the Colonials. Biancone hit a three-run homer in the seventh inning, recording the third of the season and second of the series.

GW held their defense with graduate right-handed pitcher Justin Solt giving up a run on five hits in six innings for his third win of the year. The Colonials bullpen gave up only one run and one hit through the final three innings.

Ritchie said none of the wins over the weekend could be attributed to just one player.

“So I think that was a big deal for us putting up all the runs, is even though we had some two or three hot guys, the other guys really started coming to make some good adjustments,” he said. “And I think it was just a massive, massive team effort.”

Ritchie said the team will use these wins to build their confidence as they look toward the rest of the season.

“And I think games like this will give you some good feel, some good vibe,” Ritchie said. “At the same time, you have to encapsulate that and say, ‘Hey, that one’s done – we need to do better, no matter what and that should lead you into the next game and the next series.”

The Colonials will play a nonconference game at Towson on Tuesday at 3 p.m. before returning to Arlington for a three-game conference series against Dayton this weekend.