March 6, 2005

Box Score

Fairfax, Va.--George Mason University's softball team (4-10) dropped its first game of the day to Syracuse by a score of 3-2 and then came back from a 4-0 deficit to defeat Cornell, 5-4, at George Mason Field Sunday afternoon in the final day of the Patriot Classic.

Mason was down 3-0 heading into the fifth inning against the Orange (8-2), but freshman Amanda Bach (Chesapeake, Va.) crossed home plate to put the Patriots on the scoreboard. Bach was sent home after senior shortstop Stacy James (Leesburg, Va.) reached first on a fielder's choice and Katlyn Winter (Mentor, Ohio) was safe at second due to an error by Syracuse second baseman, Shawna Norris. In the seventh inning, James hit a double and scored after Arielle Weinkofsky (Fr.; Dakhurst, N.J.) hit a single to right field. The Patriots could not pull any closer and the game ended with a 3-2 advantage for the Orange.

Weinkofsky (0-3) pitched the entire game for the Patriots and gave up three earned runs off of six hits, while walking three batters. Alex Austin collected the win for the Orange as she was on the mound for 4.1 innings and gave up one run off of four hits, while walking three and striking out five batters.

In the second game of the day, Mason headed into the bottom of the seventh versus Cornell (1-3) down by a score of 4-0. Emily Miller (Fr.; Springfield, Va.) started off the inning with a single to left field, while Weinkofsky followed with another single. Freshman Lesley Hassen (Virginia Beach, Va.) knocked one to center field to load the bases with no outs and Kristin Dickel (Fr.; North Wales, Pa.) was up next and earned a walk, which sent Miller across home plate. Bach also hit a single to center field which scored Weinkofsky and put the score at 4-2. With two outs and bases loaded, James comes up to bat and hit a triple to right field to earn three RBI and helped lift Mason to a 5-4 victory over the Big Red.

Freshman pitcher Amber Straube (Virginia Beach, Va.) was on the mound for seven innings and gave up four earned runs off of eight hits, while walking three and striking out four batters. Whitney Smith pitched the entire game for Cornell and gave up five earned runs off of seven hits, while walking three and striking out seven Patriots.

Next up for the Patriots is the Rebel Spring Games where Mason will compete in 10 games through Mar. 13-18 in Osceola, Fla.