March 12, 2007
The George Mason baseball team will play host to Mount St. Mary's on Tuesday afternoon as the Patriots will look to continue the strong offensive performances of late that allowed Mason to win five straight before a loss on Sunday at Hofstra. The Patriots had scored in double figures in six straight games prior to Sunday's 9-7 loss but they will have their hands full against an old nemesis.
Dustin Pease will take the mound for the Mount and he has stymied the Mason bats in the past. In 2004, on a bitter cold day in Emmitsburg, Md., Pease, then a freshman, pitched a complete game allowing nine hits and two earned runs while striking out nine and walking none. It was one of just 17 losses the Patriots suffered that season and it is the only time the Mount has beaten Mason since 1980.
In 2005, Pease again got a start in Emmitsburg, this time not allowing a base runner while striking out five in two innings of work. The two teams did not meet last year as their one schedule meeting was cancelled. Pease entered the season as the Mount's all-time leader in wins, ERA and appearances, is second all-time in innings pitched and third all-time in strikeouts and complete games. He is 1-2 this year with a 6.38 ERA and has pitched twice in the past nine days. He went eight innings on March 4 and six innings on March 8.
For offense, Mason can look to a variety of sources. The 2-6 hitters have been on a tremendous tear of late. Chris Fournier had a 12-game hitting streak snapped on Sunday but in his past nine games, he's still hitting .432 with six homers, 19 RBI, a 1.081 slugging percentage and a .543 on-base percentage. The third-hole hitter, Scott Krieger, had homered in a school-record five straight games before Sunday's loss, and over the past nine contests, he's hitting .595 with seven homers and 23 RBI. He's also slugging 1.270 in those games with a .644 on-base percentage.
Still, no one in the nation is as hot as cleanup hitter Justin Bour. The Louisville Slugger National Player of the Week and Colonial Athletic Association Player of the Week had seven homers and 19 RBI last week with three grand slams. Over the past nine games, he's hitting .429 with eight homers, 26 RBI and a 1.095 slugging percentage.
In the fifth hole has been designated hitter Jason Bour, Justin's older brother. He's hitting .378 with three homers and a .784 slugging percentage over the nine game stretch. Batting sixth is Chris Henderson, who is hitting .421 with 11 runs scored over that past nine contests. And those hot bats don't include Ryan Uphouse, who has hit .441 with 10 RBI from the eighth spot in the order.
Mason will send Trevor Rosenberg to the mound on Tuesday. In his past three appearances, he has a 1.69 ERA and one save. It will be his second start of the season. He started against Coppin State last Tuesday but went just two innings as five pitchers took the mound in that 28-1 win.
