TOWSON, Md. - Senior righthander Joe Richardson and two relievers held the Tigers (25-23-1) to eight hits as George Washington University (16-33) ended the Tigers' eight-game home winning streak with a 12-6 non-conference victory at John B. Schuerholz Park on Wednesday afternoon.

The Colonials, who won for the fourth time in their last five games, scored five runs in the first inning and never trailed as they handed Towson its second loss in a row. The Tigers, who lost to UMBC on Tuesday night, dropped back-to-back games for the first time since April 8-9 at Old Dominion.

Richardson held the Tigers to four runs on five hits over the first six innings as he improved his record to 2-6 on the season. He walked one and struck out four. He was relieved by sophomore lefthander Kenny O'Brien, who threw two shutout innings. Senior righthander Chris Keiper pitched the ninth inning and gave up two runs on two hits.

Seeking to end the Tigers' dominance at Schuerholz Park, the Colonials got off to a great start as they scored five runs in the first inning. Freshman second baseman Owen Beightol led off the game by hitting a sharp ground ball to third base which senior third baseman Chris Wychock mishandled for an error. Sophomore designated hitter Kyle Gelling followed with a single to left field, giving GW two runners on base with no outs. A walk to senior centerfielder Brandon Kelliher loaded the bases.

Junior catcher Jimmy Best gave the Colonials a 2-0 lead when he lined a two-run single to centerfield. Junior third baseman Brett Bowers bunted both runners into scoring position for the first out.

It looked like freshman righthander Brandon Gonnella might escape the inning with no further damage when he got junior leftfielder Stephen Oswald to softly line out to third base. But, Gonnella's defense betrayed him again.

Freshman first baseman Hunter Bennett (right) committed an error on a ground ball by sophomore rightfielder Tyler McCarthy as the Colonials upped their lead to 3-0. Sophomore shortstop Justin Albright drove in another run when he singled to right field. When sophomore first baseman Robbie Haben singled to right, the Colonials owned a 5-0 advantage.

After pitching to nine batters, Gonnella was relieved by senior righthander Tyler Bugna. Bugna pitched out of the inning by getting Beightol to pop up to Tiger catcher Andrew Parker.

Richardson, who came into the game with a 1-6 record and an 8.49 E.R.A., took the mound with a 5-0 lead. He shut out the Tigers in the first three innings with the help of McCarthy, the rightfielder. In the second inning, McCarthy caught a fly ball and made a good throw to home plate to nail Wychock, who was trying to score from third base.

Bugna came in from the Tiger bullpen and retired the first ten batters he faced.

Trailing by 5-0 in the bottom of the fourth, the Tigers rallied to cut their deficit to 5-4. Freshman second baseman Pat Fitzgerald started the rally by drawing a walk on a 3-2 pitch. Senior designated hitter Austin Harclerode was hit by a pitch to give the Tigers two runners on base.

Rice followed with a single to left centerfield as Fitzgerald scored to cut the lead to 5-1. After Wychock was retired on a fly ball to centerfield, Parker smashed a double to deep right centerfield, scoring a pair of runs to make it a 5-3 game. Freshman leftfielder Dominic Fratantuono kept the rally going when he reached base on an error as Parker advanced to third base.

Bennett drove in a run with a bunt single to the right side as Parker scored to pull the Tigers within 5-4. However, Richardson regrouped and threw a called third strike past senior centerfielder Brady Baxter. Then, he pitched out of the inning when senior shortstop Nick Natoli hit a line drive to leftfield where Oswald made a diving catch for the final out.

After retiring ten batters in a row, Bugna issued a leadoff walk to Gelling  in the fifth inning. Bugna retired the next two hitters. But, Bowers lined a 3-2 pitch down the left field line for a two-run homer, giving the Colonials a 7-4 lead. After walking Oswald, Bugna ended the inning by striking out McCarthy.

Junior righthander Tyler Austin relieved Bugna in the sixth inning and found himself in immediate trouble. Albright led off the inning by reaching base when he was hit by a pitch. He stole second base while Haben was striking out. Beightol followed with an infield single to put runners on first and third base. A sacrifice fly Gelling enabled Albright to score, giving GW an 8-4 advantage.

Then, Kelliher blasted his Atlantic-10 Conference-leading 14^th home run of the season, a long shot over the left centerfield fence, giving the Colonials a 10-4 lead.

After giving up four runs in the fourth inning, Richardson recovered nicely. He retired the Tigers in order in the fifth and sixth innings.

The Colonials extended their lead to 11-4 with a run in the seventh inning as Bowers led off with a single and scored on a sacrifice fly by McCarthy.

In the top of the ninth inning, the Colonials added an unearned run to pad their lead. McCarthy led off with a single to right off senior righthander Zach Umberger, the Tigers' sixth pitcher of the game. After Albright was retired on a line drive to centerfield, Haben singled to right. Then, Beightol hit a ground ball to third base where Wychock tried to turn the double play. Haben was retired at second base but Fitzgerald's throwing error enabled Beightol to reach base as McCarthy scored on the error. Umberger retired Gelling on a ground ball back to the mound, ending the inning.

Trailing by 12-4 in the last of the ninth inning, the Tigers tried to rally. Parker led off with a walk. Then, Fratantuono singled to right, giving the Tigers two runners on base with no outs.

The Colonials' catcher, Best, made a heads-up play when he picked Fratantuono off first base. Bennett lined a single to left, putting runners at first and third with one out.

When Baxter hit a soft dribbler in front of the plate, Keiper made the pick-up but his wild throw to first base enabled Baxter to reach base while two runners scored to make it a 12-6 game.

But, Keiper nailed down the win by striking out Natoli and getting Fitzgerald on a fly ball to leftfield.

Both teams struggled defensively. The Tigers matched their season high with four errors while GW was guilty of three errors.

Half of the runs that were allowed by Tiger pitching were unearned.

The Colonials outhit the Tigers by a 13-8 margin as five different players had two hits each. Kelliher went two-for-four with a walk, two runs scored, a home run and two RBI's. Best was two-for-five and also drove in a pair of runs. Bowers went two-for-four with two runs scored and a pair of RBI's. Haben and Gelling also singled twice.

Rice and Bennett led the Tigers with two hits and one run batted in each. Parker had a double, scored two runs and had two RBI's.

Of the six pitchers used by Coach Mike Gottlieb, Bugna was the most effective. He allowed two runs on one hit in 4.1 innings. He walked two and struck out four.

Sophomore righthander Sean Thompson, pitching for the first time since April 3, pitched a scoreless eighth inning. In the eighth inning, he allowed three hits but also struck out the side.

The Tigers, who had won nine of their last ten games prior to the loss at UMBC on Tuesday, return to action on Friday night when they open a very important Colonial Athletic Association series at James Madison University.

The Tigers enter the weekend as the fourth place team in the CAA with a 14-10 record. The Dukes are tied for second place with UNC Wilmington, one game ahead of Towson at 15-9. Old Dominion leads the CAA with a 16-8 record.

There are six games remaining on the Tigers' CAA schedule.