GW baseball is only a month into its season, but the team already has 20 games under its belt, including series in Florida, North Carolina and Williamsburg, Va.
But this weekend’s series against Atlantic 10 rival La Salle marks the first games the Colonials will host at Barcroft Park in Arlington, Va., this season.
“The energy in the locker room is at an all-time high, with Barcroft being renovated and La Salle being the first conference opponent we face this year, so there’s an added level of excitement [for this weekend],” said senior infielder Ollie Mittag. “We played La Salle last year in Philadelphia and got swept, so there’s revenge on the table as well.”
“We’re expecting big things, and I think we’re definitely going be able to carry this energy not just through the La Salle series but through our entire A-10 play,” he added.
The La Salle series is not the first home games for the Colonials: Earlier this month, the team hosted Cornell for four games at Catholic University’s stadium and served as the home team against Georgetown during a game at the Hoyas’ Shirley Povich Field in Bethesda, Md. In February, GW also served as the home team and hosted a series against Army at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, N.C.
Barcroft is currently undergoing a multimillion-dollar renovation as a result of an agreement between George Washington University and the Arlington County Parks, Recreation and Cultural Resources Department. Renovations include new stadium seating, press box and concessions area, as well as new dugouts and bullpens. The Colonials are practicing and playing on the new field while construction is ongoing. Progress can be monitored at GWSports.com.
“This weekend’s series comes at a perfect time to have conference play,” said senior pitcher Luke Mirabella, “because we can open the field now and feed off the energy of a new ballpark.”
This season, the Colonials returned eight position starters and are looking for the program’s first conference-tournament berth since 2006 and its first NCAA regionals appearance since 2002 under Steve Mrowka, now in his eighth year as head coach.
Mr. Mirabella and Mr. Mittag said the team hopes to defeat every conference opponent, most notably Charlotte and Rhode Island, who knocked GW out of making the A-10 tournament by one game in 2010.
Mr. Mittag said the team has a list of their conference opponents posted right outside their locker room titled “Road to A-10.”
“It’s been quite some time since GW has made the tournament, so it’s been our rallying point this season,” he said. “Our goal is to win each conference series—whether it’s a sweep or winning two out of three—and to try to make a statement that GW baseball is a powerhouse, not just in the A-10 but in the region as well.”
“With this field, the GW baseball program is really on the rise, and this is a statement year for us,” he added. “Everyone is excited and ready to roll through A-10 play and make it to the tournament.”
Mr. Mittag and Mr. Mirabella cited Barcroft’s brand new turf, flat surface and high walls as just some of the improvements they are looking forward to experiencing at the park.
“There’s no prettier sight than seeing a big GW in center field,” said Mr. Mittag. “It finally felt like it was our field, so I think a lot of the guys were able to connect with Barcroft on a much deeper level than in previous years.”
Mr. Mittag and Mr. Mirabella said most of their memories from their four years at GW come from the 31-member baseball team.
“Through playing together and doing so many things together, we’ve become brothers,” said Mr. Mirabella. “A lot of memories that I have aren’t necessarily from what happened in a game, but from bus rides or the locker room or from when we’ve all hung out. We’ve all made lifelong friends.”
Mr. Mittag, who called playing for the program “an absolutely fantastic experience,” said one of his favorite memories was shoveling snow with his teammates off of Barcroft during his freshman year.
“It’s stuff like that I’m going to look back at,” he said, “and while it may have been frustrating at times, we all came together. It’s been a rewarding experience.”
The enhancements to Barcroft Park will help bring about a bright future for GW baseball, said Mr. Mirabella.
“We felt like our field might have held us back in the past in terms of being a major program,” he said, “but nothing can stop us now.”