ARLINGTON, Va. - Sophomore righthander Sean Bertrand struck out pinch hitter Paul Pakan with the tying run on third base in the bottom of the ninth inning as the Tigers (10-23) handed George Washington University (17-15) a 6-5 loss in a non-conference game at Barcroft Park on Tuesday afternoon.
Bertrand, who earned the first save of his college career, pitched the final three innings in relief of senior righthander Austin Hurd. He allowed two runs on three hits with three walks and three strikeouts.
With the win, the Tigers snapped a three-game losing streak.
The Colonials entered the bottom of the ninth inning facing a 6-4 deficit. Senior third baseman Chris Holland led off the inning by drawing a walk. When senior designated hitter Curtis Eward doubled to left centerfield, Holland scored to cut the deficit to 6-5. Eward advanced to third base on a sacrifice bunt by senior rightfielder Brandon Gillette. With the tying run on third base, Bertrand retired sophomore catcher Ryan Thomas on a pop fly to first base.
Bertrand pitched carefully to senior shortstop Tom Zebroski, the leading hitter in the Atlantic-10 Conference. On a 3-2 pitch, he walked Zebroski, putting the winning run on base. Bertrand came back to nail down the victory by striking out Pakan on a 1-2 pitch.
The victory was a hard-earned win for the Tigers, who outhit the Colonials by a 10-8 margin. GW pitchers walked eight Tigers but Towson couldn't get a big hit. Towson left 13 runners on base in the win.
After a 70-minute rain delay at the start of the game, the Tigers took a 2-0 lead in the top of the second inning. With one out, junior second baseman Chris Wychock reached base on an infield single. Moments later, freshman leftfielder Kurt Wertz launched his second home run of the season over the right centerfield fence to put the Tigers ahead. It was the second homer of Wertz's career and marked his second homer in as many games.
In the third inning, the Tigers threatened to add to their lead. Freshman designated hitter Cody Reeves led off the inning with a single to right. After sophomore centerfielder Ben Winter hit into a force play, junior shortstop Nick Natoli singled to centerfield as Winter advanced to third base. But freshman righthander Ryan Heinz came back and pitched out of the jam by retiring senior rightfielder Kevin Collins on a pop fly to third base and getting senior first baseman Steve Yarsinsky to ground out to shortstop.
Hurd was very impressive in the first two innings. After setting down the Colonials in order in the first, he gave up a one-out single to sophomore leftfielder Stephen Oswald in the second inning. However, he pitched out of the inning by getting Holland to ground into a double play.
In the bottom of the third inning, Hurd retired the first two hitters he faced. Thomas reached base when Hurd made an error on a ground ball back to the pitcher's mound. On the next pitch, Zebroski blasted his ninth home run of the season over the left centerfield fence to tie the game at 2-2. When Hurd hit sophomore second baseman Ollie Mittag with a pitch, the Colonials had the go-ahead run on base. But, Hurd got some help from freshman catcher Andrew Parker, who threw out Mittag when he tried to steal second base.
With the score tied at 2-2, Heinz ran into control problems in the fourth inning. He walked Wychock on a 3-2 pitch to start the inning. After Wychock stole second base, Heinz struck out Wertz for the first out. When Heinz walked junior third baseman Austin Harclerode on another 3-2 pitch, the Tigers had two runners on base. Moments later, Heinz hit Parker with a pitch to load the bases.
Reeves followed by drawing a bases-loaded walk on another 3-2 pitch to force in a run as Wychock scored to give the Tigers a 3-2 lead.
After the walk to Reeves, Heinz was relieved by freshman lefthander Brian Derner. Derner retired Winter on a ground ball to first base while Harclerode scored to up the Tigers' lead to 4-2. But Derner struck out Natoli as the Tigers stranded two runners in scoring position.
Hurd pitched out of a major jam in the bottom of the fourth inning. Senior first baseman Chris Luick led off the inning with a double down the left field line. Junior centerfielder Brandon Kelliher reached base on catcher's interference as GW put the tying runs on base with no outs. Hurd came back to strike out Oswald and retire Holland on a popup to second base. With Eward at the plate, the Colonials tried to pull off a double steal. Luick stole third base while Kelliher got caught in a rundown. During the rundown, Luick tried to score and Wychock threw him out at home plate to retire the side.
In the fifth inning, Eward led off with a double to left and Hurd was in another jam. Gillette grounded out to second base as Eward advanced to third base. But, Hurd came back and struck out Thomas and Zebroski to strand Eward at third base and preserve the Tigers' 4-2 lead.
After retiring the first six hitters he faced, Derner ran into trouble in the sixth inning. With one out, Harclerode singled to centerfield. After Parker struck out, Harclerode advanced to second base on a balk. Reeves reached base on an infield single and advanced to second base on a throwing error as Harclerode came around to score, upping the lead to 5-2. The Tigers proceeded to load the bases when Winter singled to right and Natoli drew a walk. However, Derner pitched out of the jam when he retired Collins on a line drive to first base.
The Colonials cut their deficit to 5-3 in the bottom of the sixth inning. With one out, Hurd walked Luick on four pitches, his only walk of the game. Luick advanced to third base when Kelliher doubled to left. A sacrifice fly to left by Oswald enabled Luick to score, cutting the lead to 5-3. Holland ended the inning by lining out to rightfield.
With the help of his defense, Derner escaped another jam in the seventh inning. Yarsinsky led off the seventh with a single to rightfield, extending his hitting streak to 21 games. Wychock drew a walk to put runners on first and second base. After Wertz lined out to leftfield, Harclerode drew another walk to load the bases with one out. However, Parker hit a ground ball to Zebroski at shortstop and he turned it into an inning-ending double play.
Bertrand relieved Hurd in the bottom of the seventh inning and ran into immediate trouble. Eward led off the inning with a single to centerfield. When Gillette drew a walk, the Colonials had the tying runs on base. Bertrand picked up the first out of the inning when Thomas hit a fly ball to rightfield. Then, Bertrand struck out Zebroski on a 3-2 pitcher and Parker threw out Eward trying to steal third base, ending the threat.
The Tigers added an important insurance run in the top of the eighth inning. With one out, Winter reached base on an error by Zebroski at shortstop. He advanced to second base on a balk. When Natoli reached base on an infield single, Winter moved to third base with one out. The Tigers had the bases loaded again when Collins was hit by a pitch. Yarsinsky's sacrifice fly to centerfield scored Winter, giving Towson a 6-3 advantage. But the Tigers failed to add any more runs when Wychock ended the inning by grounding out to first base.
The Colonials trimmed their deficit to 6-4 in the bottom of the eighth inning. With one out, Luick doubled to left center. He advanced to third base on a wild pitch. A sacrifice fly by Kelliher drove in Luick before Oswald grounded out to Bertrand, ending the inning.
In his best performance of the season, Hurd earned his first win of the season as he pitched six innings and allowed three runs on five hits. Only one of the runs he allowed was earned. He walked one batter and struck out five.
"Austin Hurd pitched very well for us," said Coach Mike Gottlieb. "That's the second game in a row where he has pitched well. He could be very valuable the rest of the way."
Natoli led the Tigers by going two-for-four while Winter had two hits and drove in a run. Reeves also went two-for-four with one RBI while Harclerode reached base four times. He singled once and walked three times.
Eward led the Colonials by going three-for-four.
The Tigers return to Schuerholz Park on Wednesday when they host Bucknell University at 3:00 p.m.
