GW Baseball Advances with 11-5 Win Over Fordham

Wednesday, May 20

Arlington, VA - Tucker Field at Barcroft Park

8:30 PM

George Washington University

31-21

No. 7 Fordham

22-32

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Fordham	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	3	5	13	1
George Washington	3	1	3	3	0	0	0	1	X	11	15	2

GW and CSNU will play the middle game of the three-game series on Saturday at 5:00 p.m. ET.

5/21/2015 12:00:00 AM | Baseball

Box Score

May 20, 2015

Box Score

WASHINGTON - The George Washington baseball team scored three runs in the first inning and never looked back to stave off elimination with an 11-5 win over Fordham on Wednesday evening in the Atlantic 10 Championship at Tucker Field at Barcroft Park.

GW (31-21) and Fordham (22-32), playing in the tournament's first elimination game following losses earlier in the day, combined for 28 hits in the contest. The Colonials plated their 11 runs on 15 hits while the Rams scored five runs on 13 hits.

GW loaded the bases with no outs to open the bottom of the first inning before a bases-clearing double by freshman Brandon Chapman put the Colonials on top, 3-0.

The three-run cushion was plenty for Colonials' starter Jacob Williams, who improved to 4-3 on the season after pitching 8.1 innings and yielding four runs (three earned) with no walks and four strikeouts.

Sophomore Kevin Mahala led off the second inning with a double and later scored on a sacrifice fly by freshman Robbie Metz to push the advantage to 4-0.

GW loaded the bases with no outs for a second time in the bottom of the third inning. Sophomore Bobby Campbell provided a squeeze-play RBI to make the score 5-0 and then Mahala came through with his second double of the day, which plated two additional runs, to push the score to 7-0 after three innings.

Fordham plated one run in the top of the fourth inning to cut the deficit to 7-1, but Williams retired the side and ended the threat with a strikeout.

The Colonials struck for another three spot in the bottom of the fourth inning. Sophomore Eli Kashi led off with a walk and then advanced to second on a single by Metz. Each runner moved up on a wild pitch and then sophomore Colin Gibbons-Fly brought them home with a two-run double to the gap in left center field to extend the lead to 9-1. Later in the inning, senior Ryan Xepoleas provided a RBI single to make the score 10-1.

The Rams added a sacrifice fly in the fifth inning to get within eight runs of the lead at 10-2, but Chapman added his fourth RBI of the game on a run-scoring single in the eighth inning to push the lead back to nine runs at 11-2.

Fordham attempted a late comeback by plating a trio of runs in the top of the ninth but junior Randy Dalrymple recorded the final two outs of the game to send the Colonials to day two of the tournament.

Chapman finished 3-for-5 with one double, one run and four RBIs to pace the offense. Mahala went 3-for-4 with two doubles and two RBIs and Gibbons-Fly was 2-for-5 with two runs, two RBIs and a double.

Kashi (2-for-4, two runs, one walk), Metz (2-for-3, three runs, one RBI, one walk) and Xepoleas (2-for-3, one RBI) also added multiple hits for the Colonials.

GW will play at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday afternoon in an elimination game against the loser of Richmond and Rhode Island, which kicks off day two at 10:00 a.m.