TYSONS, Va. – Owen Petrich singled home Ryan Cesarini in the bottom of the ninth inning to set off a celebration eclipsed in its wildness only by the game itself as the Saint Joseph's baseball team overcame a seven-run deficit to stun fifth-seeded George Washington, 13-12, in a 2024 Atlantic 10 Championship elimination game at Capital One Park on Friday.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
• George Washington (31-26) scored three in the top of the first on a two-run single and a fielding error.
 
• Saint Joseph's (29-25) got back within a run in the bottom of the frame as Conlan Wall was hit by a pitch and scored on a single by Owen Petrich while Ryan Weingartner reached on an error and came in to score on another one.
 
• GW added two in the second and four in the third to open up a 9-2 lead.
 
• Ryan Cesarini was hit by a pitch to lead off the bottom of the third before Weingartner drew a walk to put two on with nobody out.  Two batters later, Tim Dickinson doubled home Cesarini to cut into the margin.  Justin Igoe followed with a sacrifice fly before Ryan Picollo singled to make it a 9-5 game.
 
• The Revolutionaries tacked one on in the fifth, but the Hawks responded with six in the bottom of the inning to take the lead.  Dickinson led off the frame with a single before a walk to Igoe put two on.  Three batters later, with two outs, Max Hitman reached on an infield single; Dickinson would score on the play due to a throwing error that allowed all three runners to move up.
 
• Wall followed with a two-run single before Cesarini doubled him home to make it a one-run game.  After a wild pitch and a walk to Weingartner, Petrich singled home Cesarini to tie the game before Dickinson singled to bring Weingartner in with the go-ahead run.
 
• The lead was short-lived, however, as a two-run home run by Ellis Schwartz in the top of the sixth – who would then rob Luke Zimmerman of extra bases in the bottom of the inning – gave the Revolutionaries a 12-11 lead.
 
• Igoe led off the eighth and reached via an error before being replaced on the basepaths by pinch runner Joey Gale.  Picollo then bunted him over to second before Luke Zimmerman ripped a ground-rule double into the gap in left center to bring Gale home and tie the game.
 
• In the ninth, Cesarini drew a walk to put the winning run on base.  He then stole second base and advanced to third on an errant throw; Petrich then hit a chopper over the drawn-in infield to plate Cesarini with the winning run.
 
BEHIND THE BOX SCORE
• Matt McShane worked a scoreless ninth to earn the win, while Teddy Brennan walked the only batter he faced in Cesarini to take the loss.
 
• Petrich, Cesarini, and Dickinson all had three-hit days, while Weingartner drew four walks.  Petrich finished with three runs batted in while Wall added a pair; Cesarini and Weingartner also scored three times while Wall and Dickinson tallied two runs apiece.
 
• Every hitter in both starting lineups reached base safely in the contest.
 
• The Hawks posted their third win in a single Atlantic 10 Championship for the first time in program history.
 
UP NEXT
The seventh-seeded Hawks will return to Capital One Park later Friday night for an elimination game against either VCU or Richmond, with the winner moving on to Championship Saturday.