University of Richmond Athletics
Atlantic 10 Baseball Championship Series Begins Thursday
05/22/2002 | Baseball
May 22, 2002
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UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. - The University of Richmond baseball team hosts George Washington in a best-of-three series for the Atlantic 10 Tournament Championship and the conference's bid to the NCAA Tournament this weekend. Game one of the series will begin at 2 p.m. on Thursday, May 23, with the second game scheduled for 2 p.m. on Friday, May 24. Game three, if necessary, will be played at 1 p.m. on Saturday, May 25.
The Spiders (48-8) enter this weekend on a season-high10-game win streak. The streak matches the 10 consecutive wins they mounted to start the 2002 campaign. George Washington (40-20) won three games in the Atlantic 10 Tournament's Preliminary Round, including a 5-4 decision against St. Bonaventure that propelled them to this championship series.
The Spiders and Colonials have met four previous times this season, with Richmond winning three of those contests. The teams first crossed paths in a regular-season three-game set at GW's Barcroft Park in Arlington, Va. The Colonials prevailed on a 10th-inning two-run home run for a 4-2 in win in the series opener, but the Spiders responded with a 7-5 victory in the second game of the doubleheader.
The rubber match of the conference series went to Richmond as the Spiders belted two solo home runs in the top of the ninth to capture an 11-10 win. The fourth meeting between these two programs came on last Saturday (May 18) in Norwich, Conn. Richmond defeated George Washington, 6-4, in the A-10 preliminary round and advanced to the championship series.
Richmond is competing in its first season as an Atlantic 10 conference member. The Spiders finished the regular season with an all-time conference best 22-2 mark. George Washington has won three A-10 tournament titles throughout its history, the last coming in 1992.
Richmond ace Tim Stauffer (14-2, 1.55 ERA) is scheduled to start the series opener for the Spiders. In addition to rewriting the Spider record book and earning Atlantic 10 Pitcher of the Year; Stauffer is a semifinalist for the Dick Howser award - given annually to the best collegiate player in the nation.
George Washington will send its ace, Greg Conden, to the mound in the first game. Conden has compiled an 11-2 record and a 3.56 ERA so far this spring.