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Washington & Jefferson College Athletics

Official athletic website of the Washington & Jefferson Presidents
Jacob LaDuca bats during the 7th inning of the '24 PAC Championship game vs. Grove City. LaDuca would later hit the go-ahead HR.
Stephen Rydzak
8
Winner Wash. & Jeff. WASH. & 6-2
5
Mass.-Dartmouth MASS.-DA 2-5
Winner
Wash. & Jeff. WASH. &
6-2
8
Final
5
Mass.-Dartmouth MASS.-DA
2-5
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Wash. & Jeff. WASH. & 1 0 2 3 0 1 0 1 0 8 9 1
Mass.-Dartmouth MASS.-DA 1 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 1 5 11 0

W: Hess, Nate (1-0) L: A. Rourke (0-1) S: Cruz, Brendan (1)

Game Recap: Baseball |

LaDuca Shines as Presidents Continue to Roll on Spring Break with Victory over UMass Dartmouth

DAVENPORT, Fla. – The Washington & Jefferson College baseball team remains on their hot streak as they mustered another impressive victory over UMass Dartmouth in their fourth game of the 2025 RussMatt Invitational, 8-5.
 
The Presidents elevate to 6-2 on the season in nonconference play, currently on a four-game win streak.
 
Jacob LaDuca (Clarence, N.Y./Canisius) led the Presidents offensively, going 4-for-4 with a first pitch home run in the top of the first, two doubles and a walk. LaDuca was a triple shy of batting for the cycle. Paddy Hernjak (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley) remained hot at the plate with two hits on the day. Drew Garth (Glenshaw, Pa./North Hills), Zac Stern (Coraopolis, Pa./Montour) and Knox Meier (Tampa, Fla./Berkeley Prep) all also tallied a hit.
 
The first pitch of the outing met the bat of LaDuca for a first-pitch home run over the left field fence to go up, 1-0. The Corsairs answered in the bottom of the first with a run of their own to knot the score at one.
 
W&J found the scoreboard yet again to break the stalemate in the top of the third with two additional runs to push the lead to 3-1. Hernjak scored on a sacrifice fly by Brian Feldman (Gibsonia, Pa./Eden Christian Academy) while a steal by Garth led LaDuca to advance home from third.
 
In the top of the fourth, the Presidents added additional runs as the offense kept producing. After a triple from Meier, a ground out scored the W&J third baseman. A Hernjak single scored Josh Dezenzo (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) from third after he advanced to second on a passed ball. A LaDuca double and Garth sacrifice fly scored Hernjak to elevate to a 6-1 lead in favor of W&J.
 
The Corsairs managed their most productive inning of the contest in the bottom of the fourth, adding three runs in response to the Presidents scoring barrage, 6-4.
 
W&J added runs in the top of the sixth and eighth to add insurance runs. Escaping jams in the remaining innings guided the Presidents to an 8-4 victory over UMass Dartmouth.
 
Justin Giarrusso (Pittsburgh, Pa./Plum) got the start and fanned eight in 3.2 innings of work. Nate Hess (Wexford, Pa./North Allegheny) picked up the win in relief while Brendan Cruz (Carnegie, Pa./Chartiers Valley) was awarded his first collegiate save.
 
The Presidents earned a brief off day tomorrow before returning to action Thursday (March 13) to face No. 21 ranked Rowan in Davenport, Fla. First pitch is scheduled for 3:45 p.m.
 
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