By: Joe Cicchino - Sports Information Assistant

FORT WASHINGTON -- The Germantown Academy baseball team is coming off of a season that saw them finish 8-12 overall, 3-7 in the Inter-Ac League and make an appearance in the Pennsylvania Independent Schools Athletic Association Tournament. The Patriots return the majority of their lineup from a year ago, and will be looking to improve on last year's outing.

"We have a lot to prove, but I believe the players are up to the challenge," Head Coach Tim Ginter said via email. "There is a lot of excitement in camp so far."

GA was plenty competitive during the 2017-18 season, playing in 10 games that were decided by two or fewer runs. However, they came out on top in only three of those contests. 

With six league losses coming by a combined 10 runs, the Patriots season could have easily gone the other way. Ginter believes that the experience from those games will help the team this season.

"We are a seasoned team," Ginter said. "There are a number of players with at least a season of league games under their belts. We expect that to translate into success this season. We believe that competitiveness will help us this year."  

Germantown Academy lost two Second Team All-Inter-Ac players in Mike Reilly '18 and Jack Sullivan '18 due to graduation, but have plenty of talent still on the roster.

The Patriots return their pitching staff from a year ago, headlined by First Team All-Inter-Ac performer Colten Smith '19. Jack Popolizio '19, an Honorable Mention All-Inter-Ac player from 2018, also returns for the Patriots and will see time on the mound as well as in the infield. Ginter also highlighted Matt Brittingham '19, Dakota Barbet '19, Grant Giampalmi '19, Shane Harkins '20, Dante Messina '20, Alex Browne '20 and Cole Klein '20. 

Although it can be easy to get excited with the amount of talent coming back, Ginter knows that what matters is what happens on the diamond. 

"Just being competitive isn’t what we are interested in, the expectation is to win those close games," Ginter said. "That is what league play should be, a bunch of close games that could go either way. On paper, we are a good team. I think we are a good team, but you don’t play the games on paper."

The Patriots open the season with scrimmages against Father Judge, Archbishop Ryan and Devon Preparatory School before their regular-season home opener against Westtown School on April 2 at 4:00 p.m. GA's first league game comes on April 5 when they travel to William Penn Charter.