May 20, 2006
Box Score
Senior day at Spuhler Field saw seven of Mason's nine seniors take the field and each had memorable appearances on the field. Unfortunately, the afternoon saw Mason fall to Northeastern, 12-5 in what was the final game of the season for the Patriots. Mason finishes the year at 20-31, 12-18 in the Colonial Athletic Association.
Matt York and Tyler Youngs each had two hits while Robby Jacobsen Mike Genovese and Brett Pomykala each had one hit in their final appearance in a Mason uniform. Eric Gibbons pitched two innings in relief, climbing the school's career strikeouts list while Phil Stone struck out two as he pitched the ninth.
Mason got on the board early as Matt York doubled with two outs in the first and scored on a Scott Krieger double. Casey Slattery followed with a single that made it 2-0. But Northeastern rallied immediately against Mason starter Mike Modica (3-3). Dan Milano tripled, Jeff Maher walked and Arman Sidu singled to make it 2-1. A double play by Josh Porter made it two outs with a runner on third, but that's when the Huskies did most of their damage. Brian Nutting doubled, Mike Lyon singled and Chris Emanuele homered to make it 5-2.
The Patriots rallied in the bottom of the second to tie the game. Pomykala singled and Youngs doubled to put runners in scoring position. Each came home on a Mike Laird double to left-center. Laird later scored on a Matt York single. Those were all the runs Mason would muster in the game.
Northeastern, meanwhile, added single runs in the third, fourth and fifth and two more in both the sixth and the ninth. Milano was 3 for 4 with three runs, Emanuele was 2 for 3 with three runs and two RBI and Butting was 3 for 5 with four RBI. Kris Dabrowiecki went four and two-third innings for Northeastern, allowing eight hits and all five runs. Tristan Besse (1-0) pitched one and two-third innings in relief, earning the win. Bobby Carrington and Mitch Duggins each had scoreless stints out of the bullpen. The Huskies (27-21, 19-10) will continue their season this coming week at Wilmington, N.C. in the CAA Tournament. The Huskies clinched the third seed in the conference tournament and will face Virginia Commonwealth in the opening round.
Brian Winings, one of the two seniors that didn't appear in Saturday's game, was in his first season with the Patriots. He made seven appearances this year. Pomykala appeared in 40 games over two years at Mason. Phil Stone appeared in 23 games this year and 35 over his two years. Matt York played in 102 games at Mason, starting 101 contests. He had a 16-game hitting streak last year, tied for eighth-longest in school history. His career batting average at Mason was .321. Tyler Youngs played in more than 80 games and he made just six errors this season. He is a nominee for CAA Defensive Player of the Year.
Brent Hitz, the other senior who did not appear in the game, was in his third season at Mason. He finishes his career among the school's all-time top 10 in wins, starts, strikeouts, innings and ERA. Also among the school's all-time pitching leaders is Gibbons, who played four years at Mason. Gibbons is on the career top 10 lists for wins, starts, strikeouts and innings pitched. He is one of three players in school history with 16 or more wins and 150 or more strikeouts.
Jacobsen is also a fourth-year senior. He started the final 164 games of his career. He is among the all-time top 10 in hits, runs, doubles, homers, RBI, steals, games started, at-bats and total bases. He is one of two players in school history with 30 homers, 50 doubles, 50 steals, 200 hits, 150 runs and 100 RBI. He made just 14 errors in four seasons. In 192 games, he started 187 contests, hit .309 with 236 hits in 764 at-bats, he drove in 128 runs while scoring 154, and he compiled 54 doubles, 31 homers and 54 steals with 393 total bases.
Genovese is a fifth-year senior who has appeared in more than 50 games and batted .304 this year.
