George Washington University

April 30, 2003

WASHINGTON, DC - The Colonials extended their winning streak to 11 straight games with a 17-5 pounding of Patriot League champion Bucknell on Tuesday. GW has now matched their longest winning streak of the season and fifth longest in school history. This is the first time that the Colonials have had two winning streaks of 10, or more, games in a single season. Their record of 13 straight wins was set in 1988 and they have won 12 straight three times.

With an overall record of 30-11 .732, GW has the 19th highest winning percentage of the 287 Division I schools in the United States. GW started the season at 15-4 which was their best start since 1957 when they went 19-4. Three of their four losses during that stretch came to then No. 1 Georgia Tech. After a slow start in the A-10, 1-5, the Colonials swept their next two series and are now 6-5. The club is currently in sixth place in the A-10 going into this weekend's three-game series with A-10 leader Richmond. This series has playoff implications as the top six A-10 teams advance to the postseason. The top two teams in each division go automatically, followed by the next best two in terms winning percentage in A-10 games.

The Colonials defeated Richmond in a three-game championship series last year to advance to the NCAA tournament for the seventh time in school history. Richmond leads the all-time series 43-27. The Spiders edged the Colonials four games to three last year but GW took two of three in Richmond to win the Atlantic 10 Championship for the first time since 1992. Both teams have won 10 A-10 weekly awards, the most among the 12 conference schools.

The Colonials have generated 343 runs this year in 41 games. They are 15th in the nation averaging 8.37 runs per game, moving up five spots from 20th after Tuesday's 17-run game. The club is 16-0 when they score double digits in a game. GW is leading the Atlantic 10 in several team offensive categories including: batting average (.314), home runs (50), doubles (97), runs (343) and RBI (326).

Three Colonials are in the national spotlight in NCAA statistics this year. Ryan Roberson (Silver Spring, MD/James Blake) is seventh in the country with 1.46 RBI per game. Nick Koken (Basking Ridge, NJ/Immaculata) is tied for 35th in the country with seven saves. Freshman Tom Shanley (Stanfordville, NY/Pine Plains) has an A-10 leading .410 batting average and is in the top 40 in the Nation.

GW plays host to George Mason on Thursday at 3:00 PM and then travels to Richmond for a three-game series. The Colonials play the Spiders in a doubleheader on Friday the first game of which starts at 1:00 PM. Saturday's game will also be played at 1:00 PM,