May 1, 2004

Box Score

TOWSON, Md. - Junior righthander Stacen Gant (Oakton H.S./Herndon, Va.) and freshman righthander Dan Jaycox (North Penn H.S./Hatfield, Pa.) combined to pitch a four-hitter as Colonial Athletic Association-leading George Mason University (30-12, 14-3) pounded out 16 hits en route to a 15-1 CAA victory over Towson University (15-26, 6-11) at John B. Schuerholz Park on Saturday afternoon.

Gant raised his record to 9-0 on the season by pitching six innings of three-hit ball, walking one and striking out one. Jaycox earned his first save of the season by pitching three scoreless innings of relief. He had allowed one hit and had four strikeouts.

The Patriots, who bounced back from a 4-3 ninth inning loss in the series opener on Friday, have now won 16 of their last 19 games.

The Patriots, who scored at least one run in the first six innings of the game, took a 1-0 lead in the first inning when junior leftfielder Adam Innerst (York Suburban H.S./York, Pa.) singled home a run after senior shortstop Jeff Palumbo (St. John's H.S./Bowie, Md.) and senior rightfielder Bruce Baldwin (Flanagan H.S./Pembroke Pines, Fla.) led off the game with back-to-back walks.

In the second inning, the Patriots exploded for ten runs on seven hits to break the game wide open. An infield single by Palumbo drove in a run before a two-run single by Baldwin made it a 4-0 lead. Junior first baseman Chris Looze (Amherst Regional H.S./Amherst, Mass.) followed with a two-run single to give the Patriots a 6-0 edge. Innerst upped the lead to 8-0 when he hit a two-run homer to left center field. It was his 12th homer of the season.

Junior centerfielder Matt Cooksey (St. John's H.S./Bowie, Md.) had a two-run single to make it a 10-0 lead before Looze walked with the bases loaded to drive in the final run of the inning.

Senior third baseman Nick Shimer (Robinson H.S./Clifton, Va.) added a solo home run in the sixth inning, his 16th home run of the season.

Looze led the Patriots with two hits and four runs batted in while Shimer had three hits and scored three runs. Cooksey also had three hits and drove in two runs while Innerst had two hits and three RBI's.

Freshman leftfielder Brad Stonesifer (Francis Scott Key H.S./Union Bridge, Md.) provided the Tigers' only offensive highlight as he hit a solo home run in the fifth inning. It was his second home run in as many days and the second home run of his college career. Stonesifer accounted for two of the Tigers' four hits.

Junior lefthander Jon Tapper (Owings Mills H.S./Owings Mills, Md.) was the losing pitcher for the Tigers. He pitched only one inning but allowed four runs on two hits with five walks. He faced nine batters and walked five of them.

George Mason and Towson close out their three-game series on Sunday afternoon with a 1:00 single game.