May 22, 2003
Box Score
MANTEO, NC ... George Mason junior shortstop Jeff Palumbo was 4-for-6 with a double, two home runs, four runs scored and a school-record tying eight runs batted in to lead the sixth-seeded Patriots to a 25-10 victory over No. 5 Towson in the 2003 OBX-CAA Baseball Championship Thursday at Coy Tillett Memorial Field.
All nine George Mason starters had at least one hit as the Patriots broke the tournament record for runs and RBI (25) in a game and matched the tournament mark for home runs in a game with seven. Mason (29-19), which scored three or more runs in six of the nine innings, advances in the losers' bracket and will play third-seeded William & Mary at noon on Saturday, while Towson (28-25) is the first team to be eliminated from the tournament.
Along with Palumbo's big day, junior third baseman Nick Shimer was 4-for-6 with a pair of solo homers, two doubles and four runs scored and sophomore designated hitter Adam Innerst went 2-for-3 with a homer, three RBI and four runs scored. The Patriots set season-highs for runs and hits (19) and matched their school record for home runs in a game.
The victory was the 600th in the career of George Mason head coach Bill Brown. In his 22nd season with the Patriots, his record now stands at 600-552-5.
In a wild offensive affair which featured 35 runs and 34 hits, Towson jumped out to a 3-0 first-inning lead on RBI singles from sophomore catcher Jeremy Stifler, sophomore outfielder Mark Chiccini and senior outfielder Joey Marcozzi. George Mason evened the score in the top of the second on a three-run homer from Innerst, but the Tigers responded with four runs in the bottom of the frame on a two-run double from sophomore second baseman Shane Justis, an RBI single from junior first baseman Mike Costello and a sacrifice fly from Chiccini.
Mason took the lead for good with a five-run fourth, highlighted by a Palumbo grand slam to right field. The Patriots extended their lead to 13-7 in the fifth as sophomore first baseman Chris Looze and Shimer opened the frame with back-to-back homers and a pair of Tigers' errors led to three unearned runs. In the sixth, the Patriots moved ahead 17-7 as sophomore outfielder Matt Cooksey had an RBI double and scored on Palumbo's second homer of the day. Four of Palumbo's six career homers have come in Manteo, as the CAA Defensive Player of the Year (he extended his errorless streak to 21 games today) belted a pair in a 7-6 win over UNC Wilmington in last year's CAA Tournament.
Shimer smacked his second solo homer of the game in the seventh and Mason got a three-run shot from junior outfielder Bruce Baldwin in the eighth. Towson scored once in the sixth on junior shortstop Brian McKenna's RBI single and added two more in the seventh on senior third baseman Tom Trela's second home run of the season.
Freshman left-hander Eric Gibbons (3-0) earned the win in relief for George Mason after allowing seven hits and three runs over the game's final eight innings. Towson freshman starter Stephen Merson (4-4) took the loss after giving up nine runs over four innings.
