May 19, 2006
Box Score
The George Mason baseball team was eliminated from postseason contention thanks to a three-run seventh inning by Northeastern and 11 stranded runners by the Patriot offense as the Huskies took a 4-3 win at Spuhler Field on Friday. Mason's loss, coupled with Georgia State's 7-4 win over William & Mary on Friday night, means the Patriots can finish no better than seventh in the CAA. Only the top six teams go to the CAA Tournament.
Mason got an excellent six innings from starter Brent Hitz but he ran into some trouble in the seventh, giving up back-to-back singles to Josh Porter and Brian Nutting to lead off the inning. Mike Lyon's sacrifice bunt moved them into scoring position and ended Hitz' day. Chris Emanuele drew a walk from reliever Jordan Flasher and Matt Morizio and Mike Tamsin hit back-to-back singles to drive home pinch runner Garrett Chin, Nutting and Emanuele. That put Northeastern ahead, 4-2.
Mason had struck first when Mike Genovese drew a two-out walk in the second, went to second on a Tyler Youngs single, advanced to third on a Ryan Uphouse single and scored on a wild pitch. The Huskies tied it up in the third when Emanuele reached on a fielder's choice, went to second on a Morizio single, advanced on a double steal and scored on Tamsin's ground out.
In the fifth, Mason took the lead when Robby Jacobsen doubled to lead off the inning, went to third on a ground out and scored on a Scott Krieger single. It was the 54th double of his Mason career giving him sole possession of second place on the school's all-time list.
In the eighth, facing the two-run deficit, Mason rallied. Casey Slattery led off with a double and went to third on a ground out. He scored on a Mike Genovese single to right. Youngs followed with a double to put a pair of runners in scoring position. Genovese was thrown out at home on Ryan Uphouse's grounder, but Spencer Wiggins was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Jacobsen followed with a shot down the right field line that first baseman Porter snared and tossed to reliever Trevor Smith for the final out of the inning. The Patriots went in order in the ninth.
Hitz took the loss, allowing three runs on six hits in six and one-third innings of work. He fell to 4-6. Smith earned the win in relief, improving to 7-4. He allowed one run on four hits in four innings with no walks. Dave Pellegrine went five innings to start the game, allowing two runs on five hits. Jordan Flasher pitched the final two and two-third innings for Mason, allowing one run on three hits. It was his 25th appearance of the season leaving him one shy of tying the school record in that category.
The two teams will meet again on Saturday at 1 p.m. It will be both Senior Day and Alumni Day.
