April 12, 2005

George Mason and Richmond will face off in a mid-week baseball game today at 3 p.m. at Spuhler Field and both will be looking to right their ship as Mason has lost four straight while Richmond has dropped six in a row.

The Patriots lost to George Washington last Wednesday and were swept by UNC Wilmington over the weekend. Richmond was swept by Rhode Island this weekend and lost to Towson, St. Bonaventure and Virginia Tech in its previous three games. The Patriots were shutout for just the second time this season on Sunday and the bats will look to reawaken against scheduled starter John Cronin. Mason will send freshman Jared Petrovich to the mound, making his third start of the season. He got a no decision against nationally ranked Coastal Carolina and took the loss against George Washington.

Several Mason players cooled off over the weekend but still enter Tuesday's game with lofty numbers. Matt Cooksey had his 12-game hitting streak snapped and he struck out for the first time in 33 plate appearances on Sunday. He currently is tied for the Mason career stolen base lead with Lonnie Goldberg at 89.

Matt York is batting .370 after the weekend while Robby Jacobsen is at .364 with 26 RBI and 30 runs. Chris Looze leads the team with 31 RBI and six home runs. He needs just three more RBI to tie volunteer assistant coach Greg Filson for Mason's career RBI mark at 171.

The two teams last faced on March 25, 2003 when Richmond took a 7-2 win. The Patriots began an 18-game home winning streak after that loss that stretched into the 2004 season. Mason recently ran off a 12-game home winning streak that was snapped on Friday by UNC Wilmington.