Feb. 18, 2006

Box Score

Conway, S.C. - The George Mason baseball team earned its first victory of the season on Friday, downing the Pittsburgh Panthers, 9-2 at Coastal Carolina. The Patriots used a five-run sixth to break open a two-run game and Eric Gibbons pitched seven superb innings to lead Mason to the win.

The Patriots (1-3) had five hits in the sixth with Spencer Wiggins' two-run double the innings big hit. Wiggins was 3 for 4 with a steal and Brent Weiss was 3 for 4 with a pair of runs. Gibbons earned the win, allowing just two hits and no runs in seven innings with two walks and eight strikeouts. Billy Tinsley and Jordan Flasher each pitched an inning in relief.

Mason scored its first run in the third when Robby Jacobsen's sacrifice fly scored Tyler Youngs, who had reached on an error. In the fifth, Jacobsen's two-out single scored Weiss who had doubled with two outs. The score stood at 2-0 when the big inning took place.

Casey Slattery and Jason Bour had one-out singles and a walk by Youngs loaded the bases. Weiss had an infield single to make it 3-0 and Wiggins followed with his double that made it 5-0. Jacobsen's single scored Weiss and a double steal allowed Wiggins to score with Jacobsen taking third.

Mason added two more runs in the seventh when a Youngs single scored Bour and Brett Pomykala. Down 9-0, Pittsburgh (0-1) finally got on the board. Tinsley hit a batter and allowed back-to-back singles to plate the Panthers' first run. A sacrifice fly made it 9-2.

The Patriots will look to make it two straight wins when they retake the field on Saturday at 11 a.m. as Mason takes on Coastal Carolina. Brent Hitz is slated to start for Mason.