Tuesday, May 21
Tysons, VA
11 a.m.
George Washington University
vs
Richmond
Baseball Faces Richmond in Opening Round of Atlantic 10 Championship
5/20/2024 12:53:00 PM | Baseball
WASHINGTON – After earning the #5 seed in the 2024 Atlantic 10 Championship, the George Washington baseball team begins the postseason with a matchup against fourth-seed Richmond at 11:00 a.m. in Tysons, Va., on Tuesday. GW's game will be the first of three on Tuesday played at Capital One Park.
A-10 CHAMPIONSHIP UPDATE
Following a game one victory in last Friday's doubleheader at Saint Joseph's, the Buff & Blue punched their ticket into the postseason as one of the top seven teams in the A-10 standings. Following the conclusion of all regular season conference games on Saturday, the Revolutionaries sat in a four-way tie with Richmond, UMass and Saint Joseph's for seeds 4-7 in the tournament. After the conference office calculated tiebreakers, the Spiders were awarded the four seed, while GW earned seed No. 5. UMass clocked in at six, while Saint Joseph's slotted in at seven.
With a win on Tuesday against the Spiders, GW would advance to face top overall seed Saint Louis on Wednesday at 11:00 a.m. A loss would put GW in multiple scenarios for a second game based on how the other opening round contests unfold. If GW is the highest seeded loser from day one, the Buff & Blue will play on Thursday at 11:00 a.m. If the Revolutionaries wind up as the lowest or second lowest seeded loser, they will then face elimination on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. A full breakdown of the tournament bracket and information on each matchup around the conference can be found here.
RITCHIE LEADS GW TO 30
With Friday's victory over Saint Joseph's, GW secured a 30-win season for the first time since 2019. This also marks the fifth time head coach Gregg Ritchie has led the Buff & Blue to 30 wins during his 12-year tenure with the program. This season has been a historic one for Ritchie as he passed Tom Walter to become the program's all-time wins leader as head coach on March 1, then become the first coach in program history to reach 300 career wins on May 11. Ritchie and GW now begin the quest for the team's first A-10 crown since 2001-02.
DITOMASO RISES AGAIN
In what has become a common theme this season, Steve DiTomaso once again climbed the program's all-time hits list, this time moving into second. DiTomaso recorded his 291st hit on Friday at SJU with a lead-off single in the seventh inning. The hit moved him past Mike Bassett who recorded 290 in his four-year GW career. Now at 292, DiTomaso needs seven hits in the A-10 Championship to tie Tom Zebroski's record mark of 299 and eight to break the record and become the first player in program history to reach 300 career hits.
SCOUTING THE SPIDERS
Richmond enters the postseason 24-30 overall and 13-11 in the A-10 after dropping 2-of-3 to VCU in the final weekend of the regular season. The Spiders got the best of GW in early April, sweeping the visiting Revolutionaries in three contests. GW held a lead in two of the three matchups with Richmond, but the Spiders came up clutch on their home field to ultimately win both contests. Richmond is led by Head Coach Mik Aoki who's in his first season with the program. Aoki has made five stops as a D-1 skipper including stints at Notre Dame and Boston College. Before joining Richmond, Aoki spent four seasons at Morehead State from 2019-23 and amassed a 92-80 record. He has a 565-611-2 mark in his 23 years of head coaching experience.
On the field, the Richmond offense is led by D.J. Pacheco with a .348 batting average and 63 total hits. He sits second on the team with seven home runs and has also tallied 33 RBI. Pacheco leads the squad with 44 runs scored and has also drawn 28 walks for an on-base percentage of .450. His slugging percentage sits at .547 and he leads the team with 99 total bases. Phil Bernstein is slashing .319 from the dish this year with 65 hits. He's second on team with 40 RBI and has scored 37 runs. On the mound, Richmond's top starter is Kyle Roche with a 3.69 ERA in 14 starts. He's tallied 75.2 innings pitched in 2024 and recorded 64 strikeouts, which is second-most on the club. Opposing batters hit for a .301 average against him and he holds a record of 3-8.
A-10 CHAMPIONSHIP UPDATE
Following a game one victory in last Friday's doubleheader at Saint Joseph's, the Buff & Blue punched their ticket into the postseason as one of the top seven teams in the A-10 standings. Following the conclusion of all regular season conference games on Saturday, the Revolutionaries sat in a four-way tie with Richmond, UMass and Saint Joseph's for seeds 4-7 in the tournament. After the conference office calculated tiebreakers, the Spiders were awarded the four seed, while GW earned seed No. 5. UMass clocked in at six, while Saint Joseph's slotted in at seven.
With a win on Tuesday against the Spiders, GW would advance to face top overall seed Saint Louis on Wednesday at 11:00 a.m. A loss would put GW in multiple scenarios for a second game based on how the other opening round contests unfold. If GW is the highest seeded loser from day one, the Buff & Blue will play on Thursday at 11:00 a.m. If the Revolutionaries wind up as the lowest or second lowest seeded loser, they will then face elimination on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. A full breakdown of the tournament bracket and information on each matchup around the conference can be found here.
RITCHIE LEADS GW TO 30
With Friday's victory over Saint Joseph's, GW secured a 30-win season for the first time since 2019. This also marks the fifth time head coach Gregg Ritchie has led the Buff & Blue to 30 wins during his 12-year tenure with the program. This season has been a historic one for Ritchie as he passed Tom Walter to become the program's all-time wins leader as head coach on March 1, then become the first coach in program history to reach 300 career wins on May 11. Ritchie and GW now begin the quest for the team's first A-10 crown since 2001-02.
DITOMASO RISES AGAIN
In what has become a common theme this season, Steve DiTomaso once again climbed the program's all-time hits list, this time moving into second. DiTomaso recorded his 291st hit on Friday at SJU with a lead-off single in the seventh inning. The hit moved him past Mike Bassett who recorded 290 in his four-year GW career. Now at 292, DiTomaso needs seven hits in the A-10 Championship to tie Tom Zebroski's record mark of 299 and eight to break the record and become the first player in program history to reach 300 career hits.
SCOUTING THE SPIDERS
Richmond enters the postseason 24-30 overall and 13-11 in the A-10 after dropping 2-of-3 to VCU in the final weekend of the regular season. The Spiders got the best of GW in early April, sweeping the visiting Revolutionaries in three contests. GW held a lead in two of the three matchups with Richmond, but the Spiders came up clutch on their home field to ultimately win both contests. Richmond is led by Head Coach Mik Aoki who's in his first season with the program. Aoki has made five stops as a D-1 skipper including stints at Notre Dame and Boston College. Before joining Richmond, Aoki spent four seasons at Morehead State from 2019-23 and amassed a 92-80 record. He has a 565-611-2 mark in his 23 years of head coaching experience.
On the field, the Richmond offense is led by D.J. Pacheco with a .348 batting average and 63 total hits. He sits second on the team with seven home runs and has also tallied 33 RBI. Pacheco leads the squad with 44 runs scored and has also drawn 28 walks for an on-base percentage of .450. His slugging percentage sits at .547 and he leads the team with 99 total bases. Phil Bernstein is slashing .319 from the dish this year with 65 hits. He's second on team with 40 RBI and has scored 37 runs. On the mound, Richmond's top starter is Kyle Roche with a 3.69 ERA in 14 starts. He's tallied 75.2 innings pitched in 2024 and recorded 64 strikeouts, which is second-most on the club. Opposing batters hit for a .301 average against him and he holds a record of 3-8.
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