March 5, 2005
Box Score
The George Mason baseball team finally played its home opener and the Patriots' bats were obviously tired of waiting to play. Mason pounded out 25 runs and 20 hits in the first game of a doubleheader and added four more runs on five hits in the second game as the Patriots swept Fordham University, 25-3 and 4-1.
The wins put Mason at 5-3 on the year, two games over .500 for the first time this year. Eric Gibbons (1-2) earned his first win of the season in the opener, going six strong innings before giving way to three relievers. Stacen Gant (3-0) pitched a complete game in the second contest, a seven-inning affair. Fordham fell to 4-4 on the year, the first time this season they have not had a winning record, after starting the season 3-0. Singo Mitsumori (1-2) took the loss in the opener while Cory Riordan (1-1) suffered the first loss of his collegiate career in the second game.
Robby Jacobsen was 6 for 10 in the two games with 4 RBI while Chris Looze was 2 for 6 with 5 RBI.
Looze supplied nearly all the runs in the second game as his three-run home run in the third broke a 1-1 tie. Fordham had jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first after Gary Kaible hit a one-out double and Jeremy Bourgeois singled him home. The Rams loaded the bases with one out in the second but Gant settled in at that point, allowing no further damage.
In the bottom of the third, Josh Campbell led off with a walk and Matt York doubled to right field to make it 1-1. Chris Fournier was hit by a pitch and Looze put the Patriots on top for good when he hit the first pitch he saw over the right field wall. Gant took over from there, finishing with nine strikeouts, allowing just five hits and two walks. He lowered his season ERA to 1.93 and upped his career record to 19-5.
From the time the first Mason batter stepped to the plate in the first game, there was no doubt as to who was taking the opening game of the three-game series. After holding Fordham scoreless in its opening at-bat, the Patriots scored five in the first, two in the second, seven in the fourth, three in the sixth and four each in the seventh and eighth.
The first run of the game came when designated hitter Matt York doubled and third baseman Chris Fournier tripled to make it 1-0. Fournier has the game-winning RBI in four of Mason's five wins. Fournier scored on a Chris Looze ground out but the rally was just getting started. Adam Innerst was hit by a pitch and he advanced to second when second baseman Eric Reese committed an error on Robby Jacobsen's grounder. Brett Pomykala followed with the first hit of his Mason career, a double that scored both runners before Pomykala was thrown out trying to stretch his hit into a triple. The Patriots continued the rally yet again, this time with a Tyler Youngs walk and steal and Jimmy Freund single.
The second inning saw Fournier and Looze hit back-to-back one-out singles and Innerst walk to load the bases. Jacobsen singled to center to score Fournier and Looze, making it 7-0.
After Fordham scored two runs in the third, the Patriots got plenty of help from the Rams in the fourth when they scored seven runs on just four hits. Four errors by Fordham played a big role in the inning. Innerst reached to lead things off on an error by Reese. Jacobsen's bunt single put a pair of runners on and Brett Pomykala's sacrifice bunt did more than move the runners along as pitcher Matt Downs threw the ball into right field, allowing a pair of runs to score and he went to third on the play. Pomykala scored on a Youngs single, making it 10-0.
Reese committed his second error of the inning and third of the game on Freund's grounder and Campbell sacrificed both runners into scoring position. Matt York followed with an RBI single and after a Fournier walk, Looze singled to center to scored another run. The Rams had another chance to escape the inning when Innerst grounded to third baseman Matt Lovetere but his error allowed York and Fournier to score, making it 14-2.
In the sixth, pinch hitter Chris Romanow singled and pinch hitter Matt Barrett was hit by a pitch. An Innerst flyout allowed Romanow to advance to third and he scored on a Jacobsen groundout. Pomykala was hit by a pitch and Youngs walked setting the stage for Matt Genovese to drive in a pair with a bases-loaded single.
The rest of Mason 's runs scored in much simpler fashion. In the seventh, Romanow was hit by a pitch and Barrett walked before Innerst homered to left, his third home run of the year. Robby Jacobsen followed with his first homer of the season to make it 21-2.
In the eighth, Genovese led off with a homer to make it 22-2. Campbell walked and pinch hitter Brian Dunleavy doubled to put two runners in scoring position. Romanow hit a sacrifice fly to make it 23-2 and Matt Barrett followed with a two-run home run to end Mason's scoring. The Rams added one in the ninth when reliever Brett Rembold allowed two walks and two hits.
Mason returns to action on Sunday when it finishes it's series with Fordham. Game time is slated for 1 p.m. Brent Hitz (0-1, 2.70 ERA) gets the start for Mason while Javier Martinez (1-1, 11.25) is the scheduled starter for Fordham.
