Rhode Island Lineup
Caputo (SS), Olmo (RF), Hess (2B), Taveras (DH), Corin (3B), DeRegis (LF), Foreman (1B), Powell (CF), Livingston (C), Distasio (P)    

George Washingtons Lineup
Metz (2B), Kashi (3B), Campbell (1B), Chapman (C), Selby (RF), Mahala (SS), Cosentino (LF), Robert (DH), Xepoleas (CF), LeWarne (P)   

How it Happened
Rhody (19-18-1, 11-5) struck first with Mike Corin scoring on a sacrifice by Jordan Powell in the bottom of the second, but GW quickly moved ahead after plating three in the top of the third.

The Rams then evened things up in the bottom of the frame with Martin Taveras singling to right to drive in Ryan Olmo and Chris Hess crossing the plate on a double by Nick DeRegis. Rhode Island pushed it to 5-3 in the bottom of the seventh as Taveras and DeRegis once again drove in a run in their respective at-bats to give the Rams a two-run cushion.

George Washington (27-15, 11-7) threatened in the eight, getting a leadoff single followed by a walk to set up Bobby Campbell's sac bunt which put the tying run on second base. From there, starter Lou Distasio handed the ball over to Brad Applin, who got back-to-back strikeouts to end the late threat.

The Colonials kept things interesting in the ninth, putting their first two hitters on by way of walk and hit-by-pitch. However, Applin once again shut things down, getting a strikeout and a fly out before fanning Robbie Metz for the final out of the game.

What it Means
With Rhode Island's win over George Washington and Richmond's loss at UMass, the Rams have now claimed sole possession of first place in the Atlantic 10 standings.

Inside the Box Score

• Eight of Rhody's nine starters reached base at least once with four different players turning in multi-hit performances.
• Sophomore Martin Taveras went 2-for-4 with two RBI and a run scored, extending his hit streak to nine games. He has now hit safely in 19 of Rhody's last 20 games.
• Senior Nick DeRegis extended his reached-base streak to eight consecutive games with a 3-for-4 day at the plate. He also knocked in a pair of runs for the Rams and had two putouts in left field.
• Redshirt freshman Chris Hess and junior Ryan Olmo both went 2-for-4 with a run scored while redshirt sophomore Mike Corin and senior Tim Caputo each scored once with a hit. 
• Junior Lou Distasio picked up his fifth win of the season, striking out six and allowing three runs over seven and a third innings.
• Junior Brad Applin earned the save, his second of the season. The Rhody closer got back-to-back strikeouts to escape an eighth-inning jam before recording three straight outs with the tying run on first in the ninth. He finished with four strikeouts over 1.2 innings and did not allow a hit.

What's Next 
The Rams are back in action on Saturday, when they return to The Beck for Game #2 against George Washington.