One year ago, Plum graduates Brady Dojonovic and Jack Anderson were on the losing side of the biggest game of their young careers.
In the Presidents’ Athletic Conference championship game, Washington & Jefferson baseball was downed 4-1 by Grove City. The Presidents were going for their sixth consecutive conference title. To make matters worse, it was on their home field.
“… (We) were a little complacent last year, just kind of like, you know, it’s going to be handed to us,” Anderson said.
An old head on young shoulders, Anderson is just one year removed from being the new kid on campus. Fresh out of high school, he was joining a program with 16 conference titles, half of which had come in the last 12 years.
But maybe he had a point. Maybe the team had forgotten the bitter taste of losing. In that sense, then, the 2025 loss might’ve been what the team needed to refocus on chasing banner No. 17.
“I think we came back in the fall understanding that we got to really put in work,” Anderson continued. “Really work hard at it to win it.”
And the hard work seemed to pay off in the regular season. Washington and Jefferson followed up a 28-win season with 32 in 2026, tying for the 10th most in program history.
The Presidents entered as the No. 2 seed in the PAC Tournament. And after rolling through their first three opponents by a combined score of 22-6, a championship rematch with No. 5 Grove City was set.
Dojonovic got the start on the mound. After giving up one unearned run through the first two innings, the junior pitcher found himself in a jam in the third.
Grove City got three runners on base in the third frame. Dojonovic knew he had to limit the damage, so after the Presidents turned a key double play, he ended the threat with a strikeout. That sequence seemed to shift the game’s momentum.
“Getting out of that jam,” he said, “I mean, there’s nothing better. I think that that kind of got a couple people fired up, and we ended up scoring an inning or two later.”
In the fifth inning, the Presidents did more than just score. They ran away with the game 11-2. After going scoreless in the first four innings, the Presidents put up nine runs over the next three. As the offense came alive, so did Anderson.
The second-year catcher struck out in his first plate appearance. In his next three at-bats, though, he collected hits, including a solo shot in the bottom of the seventh to give W&J a 9-1 lead.
The Presidents would tack on two more runs in the eighth, giving them 11 for the day on 12 hits. Anderson finished with a team-high three hits. Dojonovic, meanwhile, pitched three innings, recording three strikeouts and giving up one run on four hits.
Now, after avenging its 2025 championship loss, W&J will prepare to take on the University of Chicago in the NCAA Division III Regionals on Friday. Even on the national stage, though, the team’s mentality will remain the same.
“Just stay hungry,” Anderson said. “Stick to what we’ve been doing because it’s been working all year. … (Washington & Jefferson) style of baseball wins baseball games.”
Added Dojonovic: “I don’t think we need to make any huge adjustments, but I think there will be minor things that we prepare for playing higher-level teams. But, you know, I’m fully confident in everyone in our dugout and everyone on the field that they’ll be able to play (Washington & Jefferson) baseball like we have all year.”
The Presidents — making their 12th NCAA Tournament appearance — will host the Maroons at Ross Memorial Park. The first pitch is scheduled for 2:30 p.m.