April 19, 2009
Box Score
ARLINGTON, VA – TJ Chism and Justin Handler each drove in a pair of runs and Sean Kennedy allowed just one earned over seven innings to help La Salle Baseball to a 5-2 victory over George Washington Sunday afternoon at Barcroft Park.
With the win, the Explorers pick up their second Atlantic 10 Conference series win.
Chism and Handler were each 2-for-4, while Chism also added two runs and Handler crossed the plate once. Jon Gyles also had a pair of hits, while Chris Umstead had one – extending his hitting streak to 14 games – tying Handler for the team-long for the season.
On the mound, Kennedy went seven innings, allowed 10 hits, and two walks, but just one earned run. He struck out four batters, stranded eight Colonials as he improved to 3-0 this season, 7-2 for his career.
George Washington jumped on the scoreboard first on a Tim Reeves solo home run to lead off the bottom of the second – and then, with two out in the frame, the Colonials loaded the bases.
However, Kennedy got Tom Zebroski to fly out to right to get out of that jam, and allowed just one base runner in each inning over the next four as the Explorers turned the 1-0 deficit into a four-run lead.
In the fourth, Chism scored on a Handler RBI single and then he came around to put another run on the scoreboard on Zack Feierstein’s sacrifice fly to center.
La Salle tacked on three more in the fifth inning thanks to a two-RBI single by Chism – scoring Jeff Flax and John Malloy. Handler drove Chism in again, this time with a double and the Explorers led 5-1.
George Washington (17-22, 6-8 A-10) added an unearned run in the seventh as Ryan Thomas scored on a Chris Holland grounder to cut its deficit to three.
In the eighth, for the first time in the game, the Colonials had their first two batters reach base with back-to-back singles, prompting the Explorers to make a call to the pen.
Dennis Burge came in for relief and struck out the first batter he faced, and then got a double play ball – the second of the afternoon for La Salle.
He then worked a perfect ninth, striking out the side to pick up his first save of the year. With the four batters he fanned, he increased his career number to 115 – tied for 10th on the career list at the school.
George Washington’s Pat Lehman went the distance for the Colonials, but allowed 11 hits, five runs and fell to 4-3 this season.
La Salle (15-19, 4-10 A-10) will take Monday off before returning to action on Tuesday with a game at Maryland, with first pitch scheduled for 5 PM.
