ARLINGTON, Va., May 11, 2009 - James Madison jumped out to a 6-1 lead after two innings and went on to defeat George Washington 8-5 in a non-conference baseball game on Monday afternoon at Barcroft Park.

JMU improved to 29-21 overall after returning to action for the first time in eight days after exams and commencement.  GWU fell to 20-32 after its fifth straight loss.  The Dukes swept the season series for the second straight season, having defeated the Colonials 10-0 on April 15 at home.

Five JMU pitchers split time on the mound with sophomore Turner Phelps (Roanoke, Va./Lord Botetourt) starting and earning the victory to improve to 8-1.  He allowed one run with three strikeouts in two innings. 

Sophomore Kevin Munson (Roanoke, Va./Cave Spring) went the final 1 1/3 innings with three strikeouts to pick up his ninth save, tying the JMU season record held by Travis Risser in 2004.

Redshirt junior outfielder Matt Townsend (Lorton, Va./Hayfield) went 2-for-4 with two RBIs, three steals, a run, and a walk.  Junior designated hitter Alex Foltz (Mathias, W.Va./East Hardy) went 3-for-3, all singles, with a run and an RBI.  Junior second baseman Mike Fabiaschi (Torrington, Conn./Torrington) and sophomore third baseman McKinnon Langston (Tallahassee, Fla./North Florida Christian) each had two hits with a double, a run, and an RBI.  Junior outfielder Matt Browning (Mystic, Conn./Fitch) knocked in two with a double.

Jay Lively took the loss for George Washington after allowing six runs on six hits in the first 1 2/3 innings.

Third baseman Brian Hwang was 2-for-4 with two RBIs and his first career home run for the Colonials.  Shortstop Tom Zebroski also had two hits with a triple and two RBIs.  Second baseman Sean Rockey had two hits to up his season average to .432.

Foltz led off the game with a single and redshirt sophomore first baseman Trevor Knight (Charlottesville, Va./St. Anne's-Belfield) walked.  Townsend grounded into a fielder's choice to third, retiring the lead runner, but the throw across to first got away to put both runners in scoring position.  Browning then doubled to the gap in left center to plate both.  Browning moved to third on a wild pitch and then scored on an RBI single by Fabiaschi for a 3-0 lead.

The Colonials wasted no time answering back as Zebroski singled through the left side.  He stole second and scored on a single up the middle by Hwang.

In the second, Langston led off with a double and redshirt senior right fielder Bryan Lescanec (Charlottesville, Va./Western Albemarle) walked.  Redshirt junior catcher Chris Johnson (Shrewsbury, N.J./Red Bank Regional) bunted both runners into scoring position with one out.  Foltz then singled through the left side to plate one for a 4-1 lead.  With two outs, Townsend hit a hard bouncer to the left side that took a high hop over the third baseman for an RBI single.  Knight moved to third on the play and then stole home for the sixth JMU run.

Three consecutive singles put up a run for the Dukes in the fourth.  Foltz led off with his third straight single through the left side and Knight poked a liner just past the shortstop into center.  Townsend then blooped a hit into left center for an RBI and a 7-1 lead.

The 7-1 margin held until the bottom of the sixth when Hwang hit his first career home run to left field, a solo shot in his final home game.  Rockey singled and stole second with one out.  After a flyout to left, Rockey was then thrown out at home trying to score on a single to center by designated hitter Doug Eizen.

In the seventh, Fabiaschi led off with a double to the warning track in left.  He came around to score the eighth run on an RBI single to center by Langston.

The Colonials went down on a pair of quick outs in the seventh before posting consecutive singles.  Zebroski then tripled to the corner in right to clear both runners and cut the lead to 8-4.

Again, the first two GWU batters went down in the eighth before a hit batter was followed by an RBI double off the wall in left by center fielder Jon Chirumbolo.

JMU will play its final non-conference game Tuesday night at 7 p.m. at Longwood.

NOTES: JMU passed 100 steals as a team for the first time since 2002 (111)... in addition to tying the season record, Munson also moved into a tie for second in career saves with 13, one back of Bobby Lasko's record of 14... Browning's double was his 19th of the season, moving him into a four-way tie for seventh in JMU season doubles... Knight's steal of home was his second straight steal of home in four games... unofficial records indicate the Dukes did not have a steal of home in at least 10 years prior.