By Isabella Sansanelli
Elm Staff Writer
The Washington College men’s baseball team returned victorious with an astounding 13-0 overall record as they garnered 10 wins during a week of competition in Florida over spring break.
“The Florida trip, especially this one, is basically a week-long trip where we spend the entire time with our teammates on the field,” senior Dom Giandonato said. “It’s a great way to simultaneously get to play a lot of baseball along with getting to know our teammates better.”
The team played their first match against Western Connecticut State University on Sunday, March 10 coming out with a 9-4 win in the first game and 13-6 in the second.
This marked the best start for the Shoremen in nearly 34 years, and by the first day of their tournament, the Shoremen had already made history.
On their second day, the Shoremen faced off with the Marywood University Pacers as they would notch two more wins and make history once again, starting the season off 7-0 for the first time in 79 years.
Marywood started off the top of the first inning with a 2-0 run and continued to maintain the upper hand well into the top of the fourth leading with a score of 4-0.
It took the Shoremen until the top of the fifth inning to overcome the deficit as freshman Chris Baker scored a double to bring sophomore captain CJ Gilmer home and the Shoremen went on it eventually end the game in a narrow 5-4 win.
In the second match against the Pacers, the Shoremen now took the upper hand in the beginning of the game leading 5-0 by the end of the second inning and eventually taking the match with a final score of 7-6.
Day three held a much lighter schedule for the Shoremen with only one match against the University of Northwestern which they took easily in a breezy 13-2 win.
The Shoremen did so by playing strong in the first five innings totaling an 8-0 lead by the time the Northwestern Eagles were able to notch their first run.
The overall strong defense and aggressive offense combination led the Shoremen to an 8-0 overall record and the best start they have had in the last 80 years.
“We come to the field ready to play every day and it is great that we are doing so well because it gives everyone a chance to get into the game which is always nice,” senior captain Luke D’Ostilio said. “It’s nice being down here because we get to play in warm weather, too.”
After a day to re-group and rest on day four, the Shoremen were ready to continue making history on day five as they faced off with Earlham College.
During this game, sophomore Nick Brauer threw six scoreless innings to help the Shoremen accomplish their ninth win of the season in an ending 5-3 victory. This win would bring the Shoremen to their best start in 82 years and third-longest winning streak in the history of the program.
The sixth day, on Friday, March 15, the Shoremen were back to competing in their normal doubleheader schedule against Wheaton College.
Although the Shoremen were able to garner wins in both games against Wheaton, it took them until the seventh inning to build any substantial lead.
They had led by 2-1 until the top of the seventh where they were able to notch four runs in a single inning with the help of freshman Ben Ruvo and junior Joe Otto’s doubles.
During their second game of the doubleheader, the Shoremen notched a no-error game and had 10 hits and one walk with six on base.
Some other notable game moments were sophomore Mike Smith’s first complete game pitching where he led the Shoremen to victory in a 6-1 win and junior Ryan Zwier’s first home run of the season.
On the last day for the Shoremen in Florida, they faced off against their last non-conference opponent, Cairn University, with whom they split games with during their 2018 season.
Here, the Shoremen notched yet another no-error win and executed 10 hits while drawing three walks. During the game, two players were able to notch two doubles including junior Max Hammond and sophomore Tommy Buchman.
In the second match, four players were able to garner three base runs including Gilmer, Otto, Zwier, and freshman Ryan Colbert, and finished the game in a healthy 6-4 win. This marked the Shoremen’s 13th win of the season and the beast start the Shoremen have had in the history of the program.
“We did great in some of our games and could have definitely played harder in others,” said sophomore Jackson Kingman. “Overall, I am proud of the drive and dedication our team has shown in making history and we hope to see continued success in the future.”
The Shoremen play their home opener on Tuesday, Mar. 19 against Lancaster Bible College at 3:30 p.m.