March 5, 2008

Box Score |  Photos  | Highlights

UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. - The Richmond baseball team jumped on visiting George Mason with 12 runs in the first four innings and held on for a 13-8 win Wednesday afternoon at Pitt Field. Freshman Billy Barber hit his first career home run and sophomore Evan Stehle had three hits, helping the Spiders snap a three-game skid. Stephen Owens, who missed all last season with an injury, picked up his first victory this year.

Stehle stayed hot, going three-for-five and driving in two of his team-leading 15 runs. The local standout from Monacan High School is five-for-eight with six RBI and three runs in his last two games. Freshman Derek Boliek had two hits, three RBI and two of Richmond's season-high seven stolen bases, while Barber's two-run shot came in the third inning.

"That was a big win for us today," said head coach Mark McQueen. "We were finally able to play with the lead and accomplish some things on offense."

The Spiders (4-6-1) built their lead to 12-3 heading to the sixth but had to hold off a Mason rally over the next three innings. The Patriots tacked a run on in the sixth, three more in the seven and freshman reliever Daniel Clark came out of the bullpen to hold GMU (2-7) to just one in the eighth and preserve the lead.

Clark entered with the bases loaded and one out in the eighth and worked a pop out, a sacrifice fly and set Aaron Tenney down looking to end the inning. The Houston, Texas native set the Patriots down in order in the ninth to secure Richmond's fourth win of the season.

Richmond plated two in the first thanks to back-to-back to RBIs from Barber and Stehle. The Patriots responded with three in the second, but the Spiders put themselves in the drivers' seat with a 10-spot over the next two innings.

Barber blasted a towering two-run shot to left field in the third after Ryan Metzroth led things off with a single. Boliek roped his two-run double to the gap in right later in the inning.

The Spiders sent 11 batters to the plate in the fourth, scoring six times thanks to seven hits and a walk. Stehle, Mergenthaler, Reilly, Boliek, Lowry and Brown drove in the six runs with one out in consecutive at-bats.

After senior Alex Hale went the first two innings, Owens threw 4.1 innings with five strikeouts to pick up the victory. Hale left with the lead, but was not eligible for the victory. He fanned three and gave up three runs - his first runs allowed in five appearances this season.

For Owens, it marked his first victory since beating George Washington in the 2005 A-10 Championship.

After opening the season with 11 games in 13 days, the Spiders will have back-to-back days off for the first time this season then host Princeton in a three-game set at Pitt Field this weekend. Saturday's doubleheader starts at noon with Sunday's game set for 1 p.m.