The Washington University baseball team has come out of the gate red-hot. Heading into their spring Florida trip, the team had compiled a 4-2 record, playing all six games at home. In Florida they competed in the University Athletic Association (UAA) Championships and won five out of six games to win the UAA competition, their first outright title and third overall. Now 9-3, the team is rolling and ready to get into the thick of their schedule, which continues on Saturday with a home doubleheader against the Milwaukee School of Engineering at noon.

Particularly impressive about the team’s successful start this season has been their ability to win games regardless of their winning tactics. They won their first four games by one run each. These wins included a tenth inning victory over Fontbonne, late inning comebacks against Webster University and Eureka College, as well as a hard-fought victory over Cornell College thanks to junior catcher Alan Germano’s game-winning single in the bottom of the ninth inning.

In the UAA Championships, played in Sanford, Fla. from March 11-15, not only did the team take five out of six games but four of their wins came by at least nine runs, proving that they also demonstrate the ability to blow teams out. After dropping the opener 5-2 to the University of Rochester, the team defeated Brandeis 10-1 and Emory 4-3, followed by three consecutive victories via the 10-run mercy rule over Rochester, Brandeis and Case Western. Washington University shared the UAA title with Brandeis and Emory in 2003 and with Emory in 1995, but this is the first year in which the team has won the title outright.

The team statistics from the tournament are equally impressive. As a squad they managed to bat .338 while holding their opponents to a combined .257 batting average. The pitching staff compiled a 2.20 ERA while their opponents’ team ERA was 8.44.

Individually, senior Dan Rieck led the team at the UAA Championships with a .440 batting average, two home runs, 10 runs batted in, and seven runs scored. Sophomore centerfielder Andy Shields also submitted a strong performance, batting .353 with two home runs, six runs batted in, and eight runs scored. He also pitched a complete game in the 4-3 victory over Emory, compiling five strikeouts in the process. Other pitching stars included sophomore Dan McPheeters, who pitched a team-high 15 innings, including the Championship-clinching complete game victory over Case Western. Senior co-captain Jason Ortwerth also stepped up, holding Brandeis to 1 run over nine innings in a 10-1 victory.

Another good sign has been the play of the team’s top newcomers. Junior third baseman Sam Hahn is batting .386 on the season, while junior outfielder Jim Haley is hitting .378 and junior first basemen Bryan Brown has maintained a .340 average.

Team co-captain and starting shortstop junior Ryan Corning credits the entire team’s dedication and their receptiveness towards each other as reasons for the fast start.

“We are hungry and come ready to play everyday. The team is more tight-knit [than last year] and everybody really gets along and loves playing beside one another,” he said. “The team has meshed well, and the different styles of each player compliment one another.”

But the road ahead will not be easy for the team. Winning the UAA title was the team’s first main goal; the next is to win more than 30 games (which would be a school record) and receive a bid to the NCAA Division III tournament at the end of the season. Knox College, Depauw University and Illinois Wesleyan University are always strong teams and are expected to be tough again this season.

But if their performance at the UAA Championships is any indication, the team can achieve its goals as long as they continue to play hard and work together.

As Corning said, “We hope it’s the start of something big. Coach [Lessmann] stresses that we can only play one inning and one game at a time. So we try to win each inning and thus each game and if we do that, then the rest will take care of itself.”

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