ARLINGTON, Va. – The University of Pennsylvania baseball team fell victim to a six-run explosion by George Washington in the bottom of the eighth as the Quakers were dropped in their final non-conference game of the season, 8-4.
 
PENN ­­4, GEORGE WASHINGTON 8
WP: Pat Knight (4-3)
LP: Josh Sidney (1-2)
 
NOTES
*The Quakers reached double digits in hits for the 28th time this season. After breaking the program record for hits in a season against Cornell last week, Penn's 11 hits against the Colonials has them at 499 this season.
 
*Going 3-for-5 today, Sean Phelan has moved into second in the record book for career hits, passing Nick Italiano. The senior now has 197—seven hits shy of Dan Williams' program record—with three games to play.
 
*Four players had multiple hits today. Phelan tallied three knocks while Matt O'Neill, Craig Larsen, and Matt McGeagh each had two. Phelan now leads the Quakers with 62 hits and 20 multi-hit games this season.
 
*After two doubles today, Penn now has 104 doubles on the season—tied for second-most in a single season in program history.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The two teams took no time to get on the board. O'Neill led off with a double smacked into right center and scored after Malinowski singled through the right side. The hosts responded in the bottom of the frame, tying the game at 1-1 after a ground out to Hood scored a baserunner from third.
 
Penn came knocking at the door again in the third. A pair of singles and a walk loaded the bases with one out, but the Quakers could not take advantage after a fielder's choice prevented McGeagh from scoring then a ground out to the pitcher ended the inning. The Colonials resigned to the same fate in the bottom of the frame, loading the bases but failing to score after a groundout to Joe Miller ended the inning.
 
Both side's pitchers locked in as both sides continued to go scoreless through the fifth inning. The Colonials took their first lead of the day in the sixth. The hosts loaded the bases with one out and grounded to Hood. The freshman shortstop flipped the ball to Adams who then tried to complete the double play, but the throw to first was not in time. The runner on third scored to give George Washington a 2-1 lead.
 
The Quakers punched back in the seventh. A walk, bunt single, and HBP loaded the bases with no outs. O'Neill grounded into a 6-4-3 double play, but Courtney was able to score on the play to tie the game. With Larsen on third, Phelan dropped a single into shallow left field to plate the freshman from third and give the Quakers a 3-2 lead.
 
George Washington responded in a big way. The Colonials quickly loaded the bases with one out in the eighth and tied the game after a batter was hit by a pitch. A bases loaded walk then gave the hosts a 4-3 lead. The inning was capped off as a grand slam on the next at-bat gave George Washington an 8-3 lead.
 
The Quakers did not roll over in the top of the ninth. With O'Neill on first, Phelan lowered the deficit with a two-out RBI double down the right field line to make it 8-4. However, the Colonials' six-run eighth inning proved too tall a task to overcome as the hosts forced the final out to earn the victory.
 
WHAT'S NEXT
Penn will close out its season as the Quakers host Columbia for their final Ivy League series with game one starting on Friday at 2 p.m.