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 Freshman RHP Eric Cantrell earned his fifth win of the season Sunday at La Salle |
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Baseball Escapes La Salle With Win in Series Finale, 8-4
May 11, 2008
PHILADELPHIA, PA - George Washington erased a 4-4 tie with a run in the top of the eighth inning, and then added three more in the ninth to defeat La Salle, 8-4, in the final game of their Atlantic 10 Conference series late Sunday afternoon at Hank DeVincent Field in Philadelphia, PA. Freshman pitcher Eric Cantrell (Oakton, VA/Oakton), making his first start since being hit by a line drive on April 26, earned the win (5-4) after allowing just one earned run and striking out nine in eight innings of work.
Senior OF Charlie Kruer (Old Bridge, NJ/Old Bridge) hit his 12th home run of the season and drove in three RBI. Kruer is now tied for fourth all-time at GW with 38 career home runs. Fellow senior Andrew Abokhair (Ashburn, VA/Broad Run) added a pair of hits and an RBI. The catcher now has a 15-game hit streak, tops on the team this season and the longest at GW since 2005, when Tom Shanley also had a 15-game streak.
A day after GW was swept in a doubleheader, they got out to a quick start on Sunday, scoring three in the top of the first inning, thanks to Kruer's three-run home run. Kruer has hit six of his 12 homers this season in A-10 play. La Salle plated three runs in the bottom of the second to tie the game, taking advantage of a GW fielding error.
In the top of the fifth, the Colonials reclaimed the lead, making it 5-4 on an Andrew Abokhair sacrifice fly, scoring sophomore Tom Zebroski (Port Washington, NY/Paul Schreiber). The Explorers managed to tie the game again, in the bottom of the seventh, with another unearned run.
GW took the lead for good with a run in the eighth. With runners on first and second and two outs, Doug Eizen (Philadelphia, PA/The Haverford School) hit a pinch-hit single down the leftfield line to give the Colonials a 5-4 advantage.
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In the ninth, GW seized control of the game with three more runs. Tom Zebroski led-off with a single to right, and then advanced to third on Chris Holland's (Pasadena, MD/Chesapeake) double down the leftfield line. Kruer followed with an RBI-fielder's choice to put runners on the corners. A perfectly executed double-steal, including Holland's swipe of home, gave GW their second run of the frame. An error by La Salle's centerfielder on a ball hit by Tim Reeves (Cumming, GA/North Forsyth) allowed Kruer to score from second and gave GW their eighth and final run of the game.
GW is now 25-26 overall, 11-13 in the A-10. The Colonials sit in a three-way tie for seventh place in the league with Dayton and Fordham, with all three teams two games back from St. Bonaventure and the sixth and final spot for the A-10 Conference tournament. Both Dayton and Fordham own the tie-breaker against GW. George Washington has three league games remaining, at Xavier (22-28, 16-8 A-10). The Musketeers are in third place in the A-10.
George Washington plays their final non-conference game of the 2008 season on Tuesday, May 13, against Mount St. Mary's, at 3:00 p.m., at Barcroft Park, in Arlington, VA.
