Many teams in the Atlantic 10 began their seasons this past weekend with a slate of non-conference games. While these results ultimately don’t effect the final seeding for the A-10 Tournament, these early games give a good look into what teams could look like in 2025.
Rhode Island vs. Oregon (Feb. 22)
In a game with zero RBIs between either team, the Oregon Ducks and Rhode Island Rams battled in what was a strange box score contest. In the end, it was the Ducks (4-2) who prevailed in an 11 inning thriller against the Rams (3-3).
Just the day before, the two teams played in a thrilling contest that saw the Rams score 12 runs and defeat the highly ranked Ducks. In this game, that was not the case.
URI and Oregon went through the first nine innings of the game scoreless. Then, the teams went on to the 10th inning of the game, which went on to be scoreless. By this point, Rams’ starting pitcher Trystan Levesque had pitched 10 innings and struck out nine batters. He was pulled for sophomore pitcher Connor Johnston, who in just 0.2 IP picked up the loss.
With sophomore Ryan Cooney already on base, a throwing error by Rams’ shortstop Reece Moroney brought Cooney home to score an unearned run and win the game. Oregon pitcher Gabe Howard (1-0) earned the win, allowing just one hit in two innings.
Northwestern vs. Fordham (Feb. 23)
The Fordham Rams travelled to the USA Baseball National Training Complex for a Sunday meeting with the Northwestern Wildcats. The Wildcats (4-1) and Rams (1-5) battled in a defensive contest where the teams scored all their runs in the first inning. Northwestern’s offense proved to be the dominant side on Sunday, and the team won 2-1.
Northwestern got the dugout alive right away when graduate student Tyler Ganus knocked in a base hit as the second batter in the lineup. One out later, Wildcats’ catcher Bennett Markinson launched what ended up being the game winning home run into left field.
Despite Northwestern’s bats going relatively quiet for the rest of the game, Fordham couldn’t overcome the deficit created by Markinson. Its lone run came at the bottom of the first inning when Rams’ designated hitter Madden Ocko knocked an RBI single into right field, scoring his teammate Taylor Kirk.
The two teams combined for just 10 hits in the game. Wildcats’ starting pitcher Garrett Shearer (2-0) picked up the win while Fordham’s Mike Rabayda (0-2) was handed the loss.
Other Notable A-10 Results
Clemson narrowly edged VCU 4-3 on Feb 22.
Bucknell defeated Davison 10-7 on Feb. 23.
Morehead State overcame St. Bonaventure 12-8 on Feb 23.
A-10 Standings Update
Since there have been no A-10 games played yet for baseball, all the teams are tied with a 0-0 in conference record. However, Richmond has looked the best, with a perfect 3-0 record on the season. Trailing them are the 3-2 St. Bonaventure Bonnies, the 3-3 Rhode Island Rams, the 1-2 George Mason Patriots and 1-2 UMass.
Matt Kotfila can be reached at [email protected] and followed on X at @mattkotfila.
