Photo Credit: Nancy Kiner
By: Nancy Kiner (@nancykinerphotography)
The sun was shining at Barcroft Park as the George Washington Revolutionaries defeated the Georgetown Hoyas 8-7 on February 25.
The Revs (3-4) began their season at USC in Southern California and saw some solid action with three consistent games of strong pitching, but they seemed hungry as Head Coach Gregg Ritchie got amped for his pregame slide.
Graduate student Graham Jeffries started for the Revolutionaries on the mound. The first inning went scoreless for both teams. The first score of the game came in the bottom of the second inning as Ty Acker hit a sacrifice fly to left field and Ellis Schwartz scored from third. Momentum for the Revs continued in the bottom of the third inning with an RBI groundout from Robbie Lavey that brought Sam Gates home.
After striking out three batters in just over three innings, Jeffries ended his season debut as the most successful pitcher from the Revolutionaries that day. He was replaced by Cade Davis, and then Reese Crochet, who was pulled after hitting two Hoyas. The Revs used six different pitchers, which is tied for the most so far in a game in this young season. The Hoyas dominated in the fourth inning, bouncing back from the Revolutionaries’ early two-run lead. The Hoyas repeated their success in the sixth and seventh innings, taking the lead in what became a 7-2 game.
Following the seventh inning, the Revolutionaries came back hungry as Acker drilled a two-run homer, putting GW back into contention. Sam Gates brought his usual hype to the plate, hitting a double that put runners on second and third. Robbie Lavey then continued the team’s hot streak, hitting an RBI double that sent two runners home and tied the game 7-7. With two outs in the eighth inning, Charlie Rogan sent a line drive to center field, which sent Lavey home easily, putting the Revs up 8-7.
As the sun continued to beat on the outfielders’ eye black, Declan Wyoda became the Revs’ final pitcher of the day at the top of the ninth inning. Wyoda shut down the Hoya side to pick up his first save of the young season and give the Revolutionaries their third win of the season.
