George Washington University Athletics
GW Baseball Opens A-10 Championship vs. VCU
5/24/2016 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
| 2016 Atlantic 10 Baseball Championship | |
| Date | Bracket | Wednesday, May 25-Saturday, May 29 | Bracket |
| Location | Houlihan Park | Bronx, N.Y. | Directions |
| Additional Information | Championship Central | Tickets | ASN Channel Finder | GW Game Notes |
| Follow | @GWBaseball1 | Live Video | Live Stats |
LEADING OFF: The No. 7-seeded George Washington baseball team beings its quest for a fifth Atlantic 10 title when it opens the double-elimination conference championship tournament against No. 2 VCU on Wednesday afternoon at 1:30 p.m. at Fordham's Houlihan Park in Bronx, New York.
AT STAKE: The winner of the game will advance to face the winner of the No. 3 Saint Joseph's and No. 6 Davidson contest on Thursday morning at 10 a.m.
With a loss, GW would play in an elimination game on Wednesday evening at 8:30 p.m. against the lowest-seeded loser of the Saint Joseph's vs. Davidson and No. 4 Saint Louis vs. No. 5 Fordham games.
RAM REMATCH: GW and VCU played in a closely contested three-game set at the end of April, with VCU taking the series, 2-1. The series featured two extra-inning games, and each team totaled 14 runs on the weekend.
BOBBY ON THE BUMP: Senior ace Bobby LeWarne is the projected starting pitcher for Wednesday's A-10 Championship opener. He is 6-5 on the season with a 3.90 ERA and a team-best 58 strikeouts across 92.1 innings.
He faced the Rams in the regular-season series opener on April 29, throwing a complete game and allowing three earned runs on five hits with two walks and nine strikeouts in a 3-0 loss.
BARTOSIC'S BAT: Junior Joey Bartosic finished the regular season on a tear, hitting safely in 18 of his last 19 games while batting .453 (39-for-86) since April 15.
He leads the Atlantic 10 with 83 total hits and is batting a league-best .426 in conference games. For the season, he ranks fourth in the A-10 with a .353 batting average and second with 19 stolen bases. He also leads GW with 44 runs, 98 total bases and 26 multiple-hit games.
ON THE MARK: Sophomore outfielder Mark Osis leads GW and ranks third in the Atlantic 10 with a .360 batting average. The West Chester, Pennsylvania, native is enjoying a breakout campaign in which he leads the team with a .410 on-base percentage and ranks second with 18 multiple-hit games. He has started 43 games on the season (22 at DH, 19 in LF, 2 in RF).
CAMPBELL'S CAREER YEAR: Junior first baseman Bobby Campbell is in the midst of his best season as a Colonial. He has posted career highs in batting average (.304), runs (26), doubles (14), home runs (4) and RBIs (40) and has anchored the cleanup spot in the batting order in a team-high 27 games.
CATCH ME IF YOU CAN: GW leads the Atlantic 10 with 65 stolen bases, averaging 1.20 swipes per game.
Bartosic's 19 steals paces the team. Osis joins him in double-digits with 13 bags. Juniors Kevin Mahala (7) and Andrew Selby (5) and sophomore Robbie Metz (8) have also contributed to GW's team total.
BACK END BRILLIANCE: The back end of GW's bullpen has been lights out this season, especially in Atlantic 10 play. The Colonials are 19-3 on the season when leading after seven innings and 21-2 when ahead after eight.
Junior closer Eddie Muhl, GW's career saves leader, has tallied 10 saves and a 3-1 record across 37.2 innings this season. All three of his victories have come during A-10 play, and he is limiting conference opponents to a .158 batting average. Muhl was named to the National Association of Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Stopper of the Year Midseason Watch List, an award for which he was a finalist in 2015.
Senior Luke Olson has been dominant in A-10 play, boasting a 0.98 ERA with 15 strikeouts across 27.2 innings. A-10 opponents are hitting just .219 against him.
