Feb. 24, 2004

George Mason shortstop Jeff Palumbo got off to a fast start this past weekend and on Tuesday, the Colonial Athletic Association paid notice as the senior from Bowie, Md., was named CAA Co-Player of the Week.

Palumbo was the catalyst in the Patriots' season-opening 12-8 win over Gardner-Webb. In that game, he was 5 for 6 with five runs scored. During the Patriots' 3-0 start at a weekend tournament at College of Charleston, Palumbo was 9 for 15 (.600) with nine runs scored, a .667 slugging percentage and a .625 on-base percentage. He drew one walk, stole one base in one attempt and had one double and two RBI. In 16 plate appearances he did not strike out.

Palumbo is one of four Patriots batting .375 or better. As a team, George Mason is hitting .339 and slugging .539 as the Patriots outscored the opposition 39-16 over the weekend. The first four batters in the order, Palumbo, Bruce Baldwin, Nick Shimer and Chris Looze, combined to hit .454 and slug .745. They scored 26 runs and had 19 RBI.

As a junior, Palumbo was fourth on the team in batting with a .310 average. He started all 51 games and was third on the team in hits with 63. He also stole seven bases and had a .415 on-base percentage, third-highest on the team.

The Patriots return to South Carolina this weekend for a tournament at the University of South Carolina. On Friday, the Patriots will face Radford, on Saturday they will take on Duquesne and on Sunday, they will face nationally-ranked South Carolina (Collegiate Baseball No.6/Baseball America No. 7).