Top-seeded St. Joseph’s is taking it ‘a game at a time’ entering the A-10 baseball tournament

St. Joseph’s was all over the Atlantic 10 baseball honors on Tuesday, with head coach Fritz Hamburg being named coach of the year and sophomore catcher Blake Primrose as the conference’s player of the year.

The Hawks were the regular-season conference champions and earned the top seed in the A-10 tournament. They’ll face fifth-seeded Rhode Island in the first game at Capital One Park in Tysons, Va., on Thursday (11 a.m., live stats).

This year has been one of the strongest campaigns for St. Joe’s (35-18, 25-5 A-10), especially in Hamburg’s 18 seasons at the helm. They tied the program record, set in 2014, for most wins in a season, after a 14-12 win over Rhode Island in the final game of the regular season.

But one goal still remains: win the A-10 tournament.

“Our goal isn’t to be regular-season champs, our goal is to win the A-10 championship,” said senior pitcher Andrew Gaines. “None of what we did has anything to do with how we’re going to play now. We’re going to go out there, play our game regardless of what happened this season.”

Gaines, who was named second-team all-conference, transferred to St. Joe’s this year from Pittsburgh. He’s one of five pitchers to transfer to Hawk Hill prior to the season. He leads the A-10 in saves (10) and is tied for the single-season school record.

By clinching the regular season title early, Hamburg said the last two series have allowed the Hawks to not stretch their bullpen, while also giving some other players opportunities to get experience.

“When you get into these tournaments,” Hamburg said, “everybody’s got their bumps and bruises, and challenges, but I feel good about where we are and the pitching has certainly held strong for us.”

» READ MORE: St. Joe’s extends hot streak with its first Liberty Bell Classic championship since 2016

The pitching staff’s success has come from guys wanting to “do their job,” Gaines said, for those around them. The Hawks’ culture comes naturally, especially with the local core.

Gaines played in prior leagues with fellow pitchers Duke McCarron, Justin Sweeney, and Christian Coppola, while also growing up with Ethan Bowen.

“For the most part, I played against a bunch of these guys growing up, and being able to play with them here has been awesome,” Gaines said. “Knowing them, and training with some of them, I knew what I was getting into, and I was really excited to get on campus.”

But it still took time for the Hawks to find their footing, especially after dropping the first three series of the season.

Since then, the Hawks have lost just one series against VCU. They also set a new A-10 record for most conference wins in a season with 25, breaking the 23 conference-win record held by Rhode Island last season. St. Joe’s also won the Liberty Bell Classic for the first time in a decade.

Ahead of conference play, pitching coach Scott Boches met with his pitchers to go over the scouting report for Richmond, but decided to go over the St. Joe’s pitching staff instead, Gaines said. The decision was based on the realization that no matter who the Hawks are facing, they’re going to be playing their way.

St. Joe’s knows there is a target on its back as the No. 1 seed, but the Hawks are staying humble.

“We’re thrilled that we’re here, that we’re in this position,” Hamburg said. “The guys earned this position, and we respect the fact that we’re the team to beat, so that’s an honor and a privilege that they’ve earned. We’re excited to go out and play, but we got to go play and take it a game at a time.”

» READ MORE: St. Joe’s is a top Atlantic 10 baseball contender and aims to continue its upward trajectory

Staying even-keeled in big moments is key, Hamburg said. And last Saturday’s come-from-behind win over Rhode Island was one of them. The Hawks put up eight runs in the ninth-inning, after trailing by six, to claim their final win of the regular season.

They’ll carry that experience with them when they face the same team in the conference tournament.

“It’s another game. The only thing that can take us out of that is if we put more emphasis on it than what it really is,” Hamburg said. “It’s just keeping things in perspective, not trying to do too much, continuing to enjoy each other and how we’ve been together all year. That’s what makes the journey great.

“Obviously our talent level is solid, but this team has played as good, if not better, because of how close they are and the fact that they genuinely play for each other. They genuinely do not like to lose. They certainly abide the spirit of ‘The Hawk Will Never Die.’”