GA's Nick Picariello deals last Friday against Archbishop Carroll. (Photo by Jonathan Vander Lugt)

by Jonathan Vander Lugt

What does Germantown Academy baseball have going for it?

Well, for one, it’s winning games. That’s a big plus. Last year, the team didn’t do very much of that, so the growth is welcome.

Take a game like Friday’s against Archbishop Carroll High School. Against their fellow black-and-red clad Patriot namesakes, GA gutted out a tough 8-2 win. It’s not often “gutted” can be used to describe a six-run victory, but when cold, wet spring weather puts a damper on pitching command and offense, teams will take just about anything they can get.

“I’ve played enough games in these kind of conditions to know that they always get a little ugly,” GA coach Tim Ginter said. “It’s tough to stay warm and you get rusty. At this point in the season, a win is a win.”

The temperature was in the high forties or low fifties, but it felt colder. The sun had been hidden all day, offering little opportunity for the ground, already moist from rain the night before, to dry out. The game went for two hours and change, and the sky above constantly looked like it was on the edge of precipitation.

It held off, but that certainly didn’t make for a pleasant day at the park. Fans were sparse, and those that attended were curled up in their seats or huddled underneath blankets for warmth to watch a game that, after the third inning, was largely uneventful.

Germantown Academy scored two in the first, when Billy Brittingham doubled Jack Dianno home. Brittingham reached third on a passed ball—something that would go on to be a theme for Carroll—before scoring on a balk.

An inning later, six GA runs came across the plate, yet only two were driven in. Tyler Andra and Dan Zamarin hit an RBI single and triple, respectively, and Dianno, Mike Reilly, Andra, and Aiden Rogatz all scored on passed balls—wild pitches if you want to be less charitable to the pitcher.

Carroll tacked on a pair in the top of the third, but that was all the scoring it was able to muster for the game’s remainder. Not much of importance happened from that point forward; the teams combined for three hits in the contest’s final four-and-a-half innings.

“I’m happy for these guys,” Ginter said. The win was a non-conference one, meaning its implications on Inter-Ac play are largely moot, but tacking on another win is important for morale in the GA dugout. “They didn’t have the greatest of seasons last year and they’re playing hard, and playing together.

“They’re pulling for each other. When you tell them that they’re capable of success and they have some, they start playing with confidence. That’s what it’s really all about.”

Nick Picariello started for GA and went two-and-two thirds (each run was charged to him) before giving way to southpaw Evan-Eric Longino. Longino pitched well, registering three-and-a-third innings of shutout ball before Max Schwartz closed out the top of the seventh.

By the game’s end, both benches had been emptied, resulting in shorter stat lines for most of the lineup. Zamarin led the way with a 2-for-2 day (his first-inning single supplemented the aforementioned three-bagger) and Brittingham went 1-for-2 with his double, two runs scored, and a walk.

“We’re pretty happy with the spot we’re in,” Ginter said. “Offensively, they’re trusting the guy behind them and not trying to do too much.”

“That means when the count is 3-1 and a pitch is borderline, not swinging at it and popping it up,” he continued. GA managed to tally four walks and a hit batsman on the day. “They’ve got to take the walk and trust that the guy behind him is going to do his job.”

Now 12-5-1 and 2-3 in the Inter-Ac, Germantown Academy is in a better position than preseason prognostications may have assumed. Two of their three league losses have come to the top two teams (Malvern Prep and Episcopal Academy) by a scant run, and league games, regardless of the matchups, have generally been close throughout the conference.

This next week is a crucial one—GA will face both Malvern and Episcopal, at home. A bad week will likely toss any chance at conference contention in the trash.

“Right now we’re playing pretty well,” Ginter said. “We feel like we could play with anyone for the league. We have a chance to really creep back in the conversation. We’re looking forward to it.”