April 21, 2006
Box Score
J.J. Pannell took a four-hit shutout into the ninth, and after allowing Virginia Commonwealth to tie things up and take a tenth-inning lead, the Patriots rallied for two runs in the bottom of the tenth to take a 4-3 win over the Rams in the first game of a three-game Colonial Athletic Association series.
The Patriots got a leadoff walk from Robby Jacobsen in the bottom of the tenth, and after a sacrifice by Matt York moved him to second, Scott Krieger delivered a game-tying triple. After intentional one-out walks to Casey Slattery and Jason Bour, Mike Genovese lofted a sacrifice fly to right field to give Mason the win and snap a four-game losing streak.
The Rams had scored two in the ninth as Chris Jackson opened the inning with a single and Jared Bolden walked. Scott Sizemore singled to left to make it 2-1. Joe Meador's sacrifice bunt put runners on second and third before Tim St. Clair's grounder to third allowed York to throw out Bolden at home for the second out of the inning. That's when Trai Harris delivered with a two-out single to left to make it 2-2 and to chase Pannell, who had only thrown 81 pitches in the first eight innings.
Pannell did not allow a hit from the third inning until the eighth inning but he finished with a no-decision. He did manage to lower his ERA from 7.98 entering the game, to 6.89 after the 103-pitch outing. Jordan Flasher came into the game to get the final out of the ninth, striking out Nate Anderson.
Flasher was on the hook for a possible loss after allowing a run in the top of the tenth. He gave up a one-out single to Sergio Miranda who stole second and went to third on a throwing error by catcher Jason Bour. After Jackson struck out, Flasher got Bolden to strike out swinging. However, the pitch was in the dirt, and with first base open, Bolden charged down the line. Bour's throw to Krieger at first hit Bolden, allowing Miranda to score an unearned run. After the rally, however, Flasher earned the win, improving to 3-1 on the year.
Mason (14-23, 8-11) had taken a 2-0 lead with a pair of runs in the seventh. Krieger was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning and he scored on a Bour double to right. Bour went to third on a Genovese single and scored on a safety squeeze bunt by Tyler Youngs that went for a single.
Brett Walker took the loss for Virginia Commonwealth, falling to 1-5. Miranda was the only Ram with multiple hits going 3 for 4 with a run scored. Scott Sizemore and Harris had the only RBIs for Virginia Commonwealth (20-16, 9-7), which has lost five of seven. Mason got three hits each from Krieger and Bour. Krieger had two doubles and a triple, scoring twice with an RBI. Spencer Wiggins also had two hits in the game for Mason.
The two teams are scheduled to play on Saturday at 2 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m. If rain forces Saturday's game to be rained out, then a double-header would be played on Sunday with a seven-inning game at Noon and a nine-inning game to follow. Dan Jaycox (2-2) is scheduled to start for Mason while John Leonard (3-3) will go for the Rams.
