The Quinnipiac baseball team opened their season with a three game series sweep of George Washington University in Arlington ,Va. The offense carried the team as the Bobcats scored 16 runs over three games.
Vincent Guglietti led the team going 6-for-13 through the series along with two doubles and two RBIs. The team as a whole hit for a .265 average in the series.
In game 1 the Bobcats set the tone for the series with a dominant 8-3 win. Quinnipiac was up 3-0 through three innings until George Washington scored a run in the bottom of the fourth. After that the Bobcats exploded for a three run fifth inning to put the game out of reach. Guglietti went 4-for-5 and scored two runs for Quinnipiac, and Zak Palmer and Scott Donaghue each drove in a pair of runs. Meanwhile, Derek Lamacchia delivered the pitching performance of the series, throwing seven innings with just one hit.
The Bobcats carried that momentum into game 2. Spencer Kane was on the mound for the Bobcats and put together a solid outing. The senior went six innings allowing five hits and one earned run. At the other end of the spectrum, the offense was sparked by freshman outfielder Steffen Herter. The speedy centerfielder had two stolen bases and went 3-for-4 in game 2. The game was tight through three innings with Quinnipiac leading 2-1 but the Bobcats added two more runs in the fourth and that would be all they needed. George Washington scored again in the eighth but Quinnipiac held on for a 4-2 win.
In game 3 George Washington was determined to get their first win of the season and avoid a sweep. Through eight innings it seemed they would do just that; George Washington’s pitcher Max Kaplow limited Quinnipiac to just one run to that point. Then, in the top of the ninth, Mike Blumenthal drove in two runs on a triple to give the Bobcats a 3-2 lead. George Washington would try to mount a rally in the bottom of the ninth but it would not be enough. The Bobcats would win 4-3 and complete the sweep.
To put this sweep in perspective, last season it took Quinnipiac 16 games to record three wins. This is the first series sweep for the Bobcats since April 14 of last year when they swept Mount St. Mary’s in three games and just their third sweep of the past three years. The three wins in this series also matches last season’s longest winning streak. While there was a lot to like in this series, Quinnipiac fans should keep their expectations in check for now; George Washington has yet to win a game this season, falling to 0-9 after this series. The Bobcats will look to extend their winning streak to four games when they take on Richmond on Friday March 8.
