May 22, 2013

BOX SCORE | PHOTO GALLERY | XU POSTGAME | CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Senior southpaw Jon Richard tossed a complete game gem to lead fourth-seeded Xavier to an 8-2 victory over fifth-seeded George Washington in the opening game of the 2013 Atlantic 10 Conference Baseball Championship at Robert and Mariam Hayes Stadium on Charlotte's campus.

The win advances Xavier to a 10:00 a.m. game on Thursday where it will face top-seeded Saint Louis. The Billikens received an opening day bye after finishing the regular season tied atop the league standings.

Richard threw 109 pitches in going the distance. The senior allowed five hits and two runs, while striking out a pair, improving his record to 9-4 on the season.

XU got all the runs it would need in the top of the first inning when it capitalized on three GW miscues in the field to take an early 3-0 advantage.

The game remained that way until the bottom of the fourth inning when a Tres Eberhardt two-out double plated a pair of runs and pushed the XU lead to 5-0.

Vinny Nittoli and Joe Forney each had a pair of hits for Xavier, while Tyler Mccarthy drove in a pair of runs in the ninth inning for GW. Colonials starter Luke Staub was saddled with the loss after allowing five runs over six innings of work, dropping his record to 4-6.

Each game of the 2013 A-10 Baseball Championship can be viewed live via webstream on the Atlantic 10's online home -- www.atlantic10.com.