ARLINGTON, Va. ? It may have been 90 degrees at Barcroft Field on Tuesday afternoon, but George Washington University was overcome by Winter as Towson rightfielder Ben Winter went three-for-four, stole two bases and scored a pair of runs, leading the Tigers (21-20) to an 8-4 non-conference victory over the Colonials. For the Tigers, it was their fourth victory in five games and enabled them to earn a sweep of their two-game series against the Colonials. Towson edged George Washington by 11-7 on April 8 at Schuerholz Park.

While Winter led the Tigers' 14-hit attack with the first three-hit game of his college career, junior lefthander Wes Shiflett earned his second win of the season. The first of four Tiger pitchers, Shiflett scattered five hits and allowed two runs with one walk and four strikeouts over four innings of work.

Junior righthander John Schmeer followed him up with two innings of solid relief, allowing one run on one hit. After freshman lefthander Andrew Newfield threw a scoreless seventh inning, senior righthander Josh Squatrito closed out the victory by allowing one unearned run in two innings.

“Our pitchers did a real nice job for us today,” said Coach Mike Gottlieb. “We got four strong innings from Wes Shiflett and then John Schmeer did very well in relief. Andrew Newfield gave us a scoreless inning out of the bullpen and Josh gave up a couple of flares that went for hits.”

He added, “Ben (Winter) had a really good day with three hits and two stolen bases. He is getting more comfortable playing college ball and he is contributing in several different ways.”

The Tigers took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning, thanks to a two-out rally. Junior third baseman Steve Yarsinsky lined a single to rightfield with two outs and moved to second base on a wild pitch. He scored the first run of the game when senior first baseman Matt Collins singled to centerfield, giving Towson a 1-0 advantage.

In the bottom of the first, the Colonials came right back to tie the score and they threatened to take the lead against Shifflett. Shortstop Tom Zebroski led off with a double down the left field line and moved to third base on a sacrifice bunt by third baseman Chris Holland. When Shiflett hit Sean Rockey and Tim Reeves with pitches, the Colonials had the bases loaded with one out. A sacrifice fly by centerfielder Brendon Kelliher scored Zebroski to tie the game at 1-1. Then, Shiflett pitched out of the inning by retiring designated hitter Curtis Eward on a ground ball to shortstop.

In the second inning, freshman catcher Brian Wyman gave the Tigers a 2-1 lead when he cracked the first home run of his college career over the leftfield fence with one out. One out later, Winter singled to rightfield. Winter stole second base to move into scoring position and he came around to score on an RBI single by senior shortstop Gary Helmick, giving Towson a 3-1 advantage.

With two outs in the fourth inning, the Tigers extended their lead to 4-1 by tallying another two-out run. Helmick started the rally with a single to left. When junior centerfielder Kevin Collins doubled to rightfield, Helmick came around to score the Tigers' fourth run.

After shutting out the Colonials over the next three innings, Shiflett ran into trouble in the fifth. Catcher Ryan Thomas led off the inning with a single and went to third base on a double by Zebroski. When Shiflett walked Holland to load the bases, Schmeer came out of the bullpen to relieve him. Schmeer pitched out of the jam with only one run scoring. After a sacrifice fly by Rockey cut the Colonials' deficit to 4-2, Schmeer retired Reeves on a double play grounder back to the mound.

In the sixth inning, the Colonials cut into their deficit again as Eward doubled with one out. After moving to third base on a wild pitch, he scored from third base on another wild pitch while Schmeer was striking out leftfielder Andrew Haberern.

With their lead trimmed to 4-3, the Tigers went back to work in the top of the seventh inning, scoring three runs on three hits. Matt Collins led off with a double to left and sophomore second baseman Chris Wychock drew a walk, giving the Tigers two base runners with no outs. Both runners moved into scoring position when sophomore Austin Harclerode grounded to first base. Then, Wyman earned his second RBI of the game when he grounded out to third base as Matt Collins scored. A double down the rightfield line by sophomore designated hitter Steve Freinberg drove in Wychock for a 6-3 lead. When Winter capped off the rally with a single to right, the Tigers owned a 7-3 advantage.

In the ninth inning, the Tigers added their final run. With two outs, Winter reached base on an infield single. After he stole second base to put himself in scoring position, Helmick hit a ground ball to shortstop that went for an error, allowing Winter to scored and make it an 8-3 lead.

With two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, the Colonials also added an unearned run. After Zebroski reached on an error by Wychock at second base, a single by Doug Eizen allowed him to advance to third base. Moments later, he scored on a single by Rockey to make it an 8-4 lead. However, Squatrito retired Reeves on a ground ball to second base, ending the game.

While Winter led the Tigers' 14-hit attack, Matt Collins went 3-for-5 with a double and one RBI. The second-leading hitter in the Colonial Athletic Association with a .424 average, Helmick went 2-for-5 with one run scored and one RBI.

Freinberg also went 2-for-4 and drove in one run while Wyman had two RBI's.

The Colonials, who had 11 hits in the game, were led by Eward, who went 3-for-4.

The Tigers return to action on Wednesday afternoon when they host Delaware State at John B. Schuerholz Park at 3:00 p.m.