George Washington University Athletics
Ritchie Captures Gold Again with Team USA
12/14/2018 11:30:00 AM | Baseball, My GW: Celebrating our Stories
GW head coach served as hitting coach for 18U National Team
WASHINGTON -Â GW baseball head coach Gregg Ritchie capped off his second straight gold-medal fall with USA Baseball, claiming the championship in the COPABE Pan American "AAA" Championships with the 18U National Team in Panama. It was the fifth straight gold medal for Team USA at the event.
Ritchie, who served as the hitting coach for the squad, had previously earned a gold medal with USA Baseball last year as the hitting coach for the 2017 U18 National Team that won the WBSC World Cup in Thunder Bay, Ontario.
"The whole USA Baseball experience is something that is pretty separated from anything else you do because you're playing for your country," Ritchie said. "To put USA on your chest and hold the red, white and blue really high up, and to honor your country and flag like that – it gives you such inspiration."
The group featured the best high school players in the country and the numbers bared that out with a combined team batting average of .407, a .517 on-base percentage, and a .683 slugging percentage. In its nine games at the tournament, Team USA outscored its opponents, 131-27, with only three games going the full nine innings thanks to a mercy rule. The journey was capped off with a 17-2 thrashing of host Panama in the championship.
As a result, the team automatically qualifies for next year's World Cup to be held in South Korea.
"The difference in this team is that we were offensively relentless to the point that the pressure was on the opponent every single batter," Ritchie said. "There was not a place to take a breath. If you look at the numbers, it might be the top offensive 18U team ever."
Regardless of the outcome, the biggest takeaway for Ritchie is the shared experiences and relationships he has fostered during his time with USA Baseball. In addition to two years as the 18U hitting coach, the GW bench boss has been an evaluator for the 2017 U17 National Team Development Program and an assistant coach for the 2016 U17 National Team Development Program and 18U National Team Trials.
"All these guys will never forget each other and what they went through and how they did it together." Ritchie said. "We're sharing our lives together in that way, and that's something that's so fulfilling because you're helping each other out through different journeys.
"You either motivated them, inspired them, sent them in a good direction or helped them in their lives. My involvement with USA Baseball is driven by the relationships that are created. That's what USA Baseball is all about."
Ritchie credits the team's coaching staff, which included ABCA Hall of Famer and ex-Clemson head coach Jack Leggett, North Carolina Baseball Academy's Scot Bankhead, and Mervyl Melendez of Florida International University, for creating an elite environment that has aided him in improving and learning as a coach. Same goes for Matt Blood, the director of the 18U National Team program, who Ritchie noted that none of this would be possible without his guidance.
"We all realized no one person did it – we all did it," Ritchie said. "Those relationships are the biggest thing. When I look back and say what was great about that I think about the conversations I had with the guys or the meals we shared. Those are things you remember.
"The wins and losses take care of themselves if you are doing those things. It's a much more special thing because it creates a family. I'm just honored and proud to be a part of the USA Baseball family and the GW family."
Ritchie is set to enter his seventh season as the head coach of his alma mater with the brand-new Fassnacht Clubhouse now open at the Tucker Field at Barcroft Park complex. Many current GW student-athletes have taken notice of Ritchie's accomplishments with the national team.
"The guys on the team – they were getting ahold of me saying 'that's awesome coach' and 'we're going to do that here!'," Ritchie said. "The inspiration and motivation that it creates is incredible. We have our guys watching the game on YouTube taking notes on the team. So now the self-teaching is happening too, which is a beautiful thing."
That inspiration is something Ritchie hopes to bring back to GW, where the end goal will always be a dogpile celebrating an A-10 Championship come May. The lessons and the relationships created through this experience, Ritchie believes, will directly affect the Colonials this spring.
Ritchie, who served as the hitting coach for the squad, had previously earned a gold medal with USA Baseball last year as the hitting coach for the 2017 U18 National Team that won the WBSC World Cup in Thunder Bay, Ontario.
"The whole USA Baseball experience is something that is pretty separated from anything else you do because you're playing for your country," Ritchie said. "To put USA on your chest and hold the red, white and blue really high up, and to honor your country and flag like that – it gives you such inspiration."
The group featured the best high school players in the country and the numbers bared that out with a combined team batting average of .407, a .517 on-base percentage, and a .683 slugging percentage. In its nine games at the tournament, Team USA outscored its opponents, 131-27, with only three games going the full nine innings thanks to a mercy rule. The journey was capped off with a 17-2 thrashing of host Panama in the championship.
As a result, the team automatically qualifies for next year's World Cup to be held in South Korea.
"The difference in this team is that we were offensively relentless to the point that the pressure was on the opponent every single batter," Ritchie said. "There was not a place to take a breath. If you look at the numbers, it might be the top offensive 18U team ever."
Regardless of the outcome, the biggest takeaway for Ritchie is the shared experiences and relationships he has fostered during his time with USA Baseball. In addition to two years as the 18U hitting coach, the GW bench boss has been an evaluator for the 2017 U17 National Team Development Program and an assistant coach for the 2016 U17 National Team Development Program and 18U National Team Trials.
"All these guys will never forget each other and what they went through and how they did it together." Ritchie said. "We're sharing our lives together in that way, and that's something that's so fulfilling because you're helping each other out through different journeys.
"You either motivated them, inspired them, sent them in a good direction or helped them in their lives. My involvement with USA Baseball is driven by the relationships that are created. That's what USA Baseball is all about."
Ritchie credits the team's coaching staff, which included ABCA Hall of Famer and ex-Clemson head coach Jack Leggett, North Carolina Baseball Academy's Scot Bankhead, and Mervyl Melendez of Florida International University, for creating an elite environment that has aided him in improving and learning as a coach. Same goes for Matt Blood, the director of the 18U National Team program, who Ritchie noted that none of this would be possible without his guidance.
"We all realized no one person did it – we all did it," Ritchie said. "Those relationships are the biggest thing. When I look back and say what was great about that I think about the conversations I had with the guys or the meals we shared. Those are things you remember.
"The wins and losses take care of themselves if you are doing those things. It's a much more special thing because it creates a family. I'm just honored and proud to be a part of the USA Baseball family and the GW family."
Ritchie is set to enter his seventh season as the head coach of his alma mater with the brand-new Fassnacht Clubhouse now open at the Tucker Field at Barcroft Park complex. Many current GW student-athletes have taken notice of Ritchie's accomplishments with the national team.
"The guys on the team – they were getting ahold of me saying 'that's awesome coach' and 'we're going to do that here!'," Ritchie said. "The inspiration and motivation that it creates is incredible. We have our guys watching the game on YouTube taking notes on the team. So now the self-teaching is happening too, which is a beautiful thing."
That inspiration is something Ritchie hopes to bring back to GW, where the end goal will always be a dogpile celebrating an A-10 Championship come May. The lessons and the relationships created through this experience, Ritchie believes, will directly affect the Colonials this spring.
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