3:06pm: Hotline with Dave Weekley

No. 5 GW building momentum after win over No. 3 Cabell Midland

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Class AAA No. 5 George Washington picked up a marquee win earlier this week, beating No. 3 Cabell Midland 7-3.

It was a nice boost for the Patriots (17-5) as they look to build momentum heading into the postseason next month.

“It’s just kind of the mental edge of beating a good, quality team,” said GW coach Mike Davis. “We’ve been pushing for that — I’ve been here for two years now — and it seemed like we just couldn’t get that win against a good, quality team.

“We’ve been preaching to them about doing the little things right,” he continued. “The game will dictate what you do, the situations and the ball dictate what you do. It seemed like (Tuesday night), they bought in. They’ve been slowly starting to buy in since the beginning of the year to what we’ve been preaching.”

George Washington lost to Cabell Midland in the first meeting of the season, 6-0, back in late March.

“Our approaches were much better at the plate (Tuesday),” Davis said. “When we got guys on, we were able to get them over and get them in – we were able to capitalize on (Cabell Midland’s) mistakes. They had a few errors and we were able to really dig in and capitalize on those.”

The Patriots, overall, are still relatively young, and returned nine guys with significant playing time from a season ago – a George Washington team that finished the year ranked No. 9 in Class AAA with an 18-12 record.

Ben Arthur has picked up significant innings on the mound for George Washington this season, providing depth behind Jonathan Blackwell.

“Last year, we played six or seven freshmen and were hanging right around, competing,” Davis said. “This year is the same thing. We’re playing two seniors right now and a junior that’s getting some time. But (Tuesday against Cabell Midland) we played 10 guys, with a DH, and eight of those kids are freshmen and sophomores.”

Sophomore Aidan Johnson leads GW at the plate, entering the week with a .438 batting average and 27 RBIs, while sophomore teammate Grant Wells is hitting .385 on the year and junior Ben Arthur .362.

Johnson and Wells both entered the week with four home runs apiece.

“Aidan (Johnson) is our top guy, right in the middle of our lineup,” Davis said. “And Grant (Wells) has come along with a lot of power this year and a lot of pop. Those two right in the middle have been a very steady influence for us – and they’re both sophomores.

“Freshman Brayden McCallister, in the leadoff spot, has been our spark plug and done a really nice job,” he continued. “Sophomore Preston Taylor has been hitting the ball really well and one of our seniors, Ben Arthur, has done a nice job in the middle of our lineup as well.”

On the mound, it’s been sophomore Jonathan Blackwell leading the way, entering the week with a 1.82 ERA and striking out 38 in 27 innings. Blackwell picked up the win on Tuesday over Cabell Midland.

“He’s done a good job this year,” Davis said. “He’s our guy. Any time we’re playing these top opponents, that’s who he’s going to throw against. He hasn’t had any easy outing and his record is kind of deceiving – he lost to (No. 1) Hurricane and then we go down south in Myrtle Beach where he loses to a prep academy from Florida.”

Arthur and freshman Trey Ritchie are also a part of the Patriots’ depth on the mound.

Sectional play for George Washington will feature Capital, South Charleston and No. 4 St. Albans. The Patriots fell to St. Albans last week 12-9.

“St. Albans is a very good, young ball club, like us,” Davis said. “The young talent around here is very good right now. They have a really nice team and it’s not going to be an easy section. South Charleston is always right there, too. It’s going to be interesting with four teams in the section to see how it plays out.

The Patriots last made the high school baseball state tournament in 2008.

“Like any good team, you want to get hot at the right time,” Davis added. “Hopefully we’re starting to peak a little bit and we can keep it rolling.”





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