Freshman RHP Eric Cantrell earned his fifth win of the season Sunday at La Salle

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.

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.