George Washington University Athletics
George Washington University
<b>GEORGE MASON</b>
Strong Pitching Secures Another Colonial's Win
3/14/2007 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 14, 2007
ARLINGTON, VA - George Washington freshman pitcher Scott Swinson (Ellicott City, MD/Centennial) took a no-hitter into the sixth inning and led the Colonials (4-11) to the 5-4 win over the Patriots of George Mason (7-8) at Barcroft Park on Wednesday afternoon.
Swinson (2-2) lost his bid for a no-hitter with one out in the top of the sixth when Patriot second baseman Dan Palumbo singled up the middle. Up until that point, he had allowed just one of the 17 batters he faced to reach base. He ended the game with a season-high 10 strikeouts and did not allow a walk.
Sophomore Pat Lehman (Fair Lawn, NJ/Fair Lawn) pitched the final two innings to record the first save of his collegiate career. George Mason's Jack Zeltner (0-1), who let in two runs, was tagged with the loss.
The Colonials got on the scoreboard early in the game, scoring one run in the second and adding two more in the bottom of the third. Red-shirt junior Whitey Wallace (Syracuse, NY/Phillip Exeter Academy) doubled to right center and then promptly stole third base to put himself just 90-feet from scoring. Andrew Abokhair (Ashburn, VA/Broad Run) picked up the RBI when he grounded out to second base and plated Wallace.
GW padded their lead in the bottom half of the third. Sophomore Tim Reeves (Cumming, GA/North Forsyth) led off the inning and reached on a throwing error by the GMU shortstop. A single by Mickey Shupin (Sea Girt, NJ/Wall) put runners on first and second base with no body out. Both of those runners moved up a base on Tom Zebroski's (Port Washington, NY/Paul Schreiber) sacrifice bunt back to the pitcher.
With two runners in scoring position, senior Michael Parker (Newton, MA/Newton South) scored Reeves from third on a ground out.
Charlie Kruer (Old Bridge, NJ/Old Bridge) walked and then completed a double-steal with Shupin to once again put runners at second and third. A wild pitch by Mason's Ryan Brecko allowed Shupin to race home for the 3-0 GW lead.
After Swinson lost his no-hitter in the sixth, he struggled and allowed three runs on four hits to the Patriots, including a double off the bat of Scott Krieger that drove in two runs.
The Colonials put together three hits for two runs in the seventh inning to reclaim the lead. Following a Reeves infield single, Shupin blasted his first double of the season. Zebroski singled through the right side to score both runners and give GW the 5-3 lead.
George Mason added a run on a Chris Fournier home run (7) to left-center in the eighth, but Lehman was able to hang on to the 5-4 lead to preserve the GW win. Shupin, Wallace and Abokhair all finished the day with two hits.
After winning just one of their first 12 games, the Colonials baseball team has now won three consecutive games.
The win improves GW's all-time record against George Mason to 36-48. The two teams are scheduled to meet again in Fairfax, VA, on April 10.
George Washington, in the midst of six home games in six days, will square off against cross-town rival Georgetown tomorrow at 3:00 p.m. at Barcroft Park. This weekend Marist comes to Arlington, VA, for a three-game series with GW, beginning Friday at 3:00 p.m.
- GW -
