GW Baseball Splits Doubleheader at UMass

Friday, April 3

Northborough, MA

1:00 PM

George Washington University

16-9, 5-2

Massachusetts

5-9, 5-3

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
George Washington	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	2	0	3	9	2
Massachusetts	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	6	2

Junior Bobby LeWarne earned the win as GW downed Niagara, 16-7, on Friday.

4/3/2015 12:00:00 AM | Baseball

Box Score

April 3, 2015

UMass 7, GW 6 | GW 3, UMass 1

NORTHBOROUGH, Mass. - The George Washington baseball team split its series-opening doubleheader against Massachusetts on Friday at the New England Baseball Complex. UMass won game one, 7-6, before the Colonials rebounded for a 3-1 win in the nightcap.

Junior Bobby LeWarne improved his record to 5-2 on the season with a win in game two after pitching 7.1 innings of one-run ball. He allowed six hits on the day and did not walk a batter while registering four strikeouts.

Massachusetts (5-9, 5-3 A-10) grabbed a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning by scoring a run on a double play.

GW (16-9, 5-2 A-10) was able to score the tying run in the top of the sixth inning after taking advantage of an error. Sophomore Joey Bartosic led off the frame with a base hit and advanced to second on a hit by freshman Robbie Metz. Sophomore Bobby Campbell then reached on a fielder's choice sacrifice bunt, which loaded the bases with one out. Freshman Brandon Chapman reached on a fielder's choice, allowing Bartosic to score from third base after an error on the UMass catcher. The Colonials were unable to push additional runs across, leaving the bases loaded.

LeWarne retired six batters in a row across the sixth and seventh innings before the Colonials grabbed the lead for good in the top of the eighth inning. Campbell led off with a single and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt. Sophomore Andrew Selby then came to the plate and launched the first pitch he saw over the fence in right field for his first career home run, giving the Colonials a 3-1 lead.

LeWarne started the eighth inning but allowed a pair of one-out singles before being relieved by senior Craig LeJeune, who retired the final two batters to send the game to the ninth.

Sophomore Eddie Muhl yielded a one-out walk but got an inning-ending double play to clinch the win and earn his Atlantic 10 leading 10th save of the season.

In game one of the doubleheader, UMass erased a 3-1 deficit and held off a late Colonial rally to win, 7-6.

Trailing 1-0 in the top of the second, GW tied the score on an RBI single by sophomore Kevin Mahala. Later in the inning, freshman Matt Cosentino provided a sacrifice fly to put the Colonials ahead 2-1, and sophomore Eli Kashi's RBI sacrifice bunt on a squeeze play extended the lead to 3-1.

UMass used a two-run home run to tie the score at 3-3 in the bottom half of the second inning and plated two more runs in the bottom of the third to take a 5-3 lead. The Minutemen went on to add another pair of runs to push the lead to 7-3 in the bottom of the sixth.

Freshman Brandon Chapman hit a one-out double in the top of the sixth before senior Ryan Xepoleas deposited a 1-2 pitch over the fence in right field for his first home run of the season to pull the Colonials within two runs of the lead at 7-5. The long ball was Xepoleas' fourth of his GW career.

GW continued its rally in the top of the ninth. Cosentino led off with a single and advanced to third on a double by Selby. Kashi then got the Colonials within one run of the lead with a sacrifice fly, but UMass ended the threat by stranding the bases loaded to clinch the 7-6 win.

Selby, Xepoleas and Kashi each contributed a pair of RBIs across the doubleheader while Chapman and Campbell each registered three hits.

The teams will play the rubber match of the series on Sunday afternoon at 12 p.m. The game will be played at the New England Baseball Complex in Northborough, Massachusetts.