April 1, 2007
Box Score
RICHMOND, Va. - Freshman second baseman Richard Gonzalez (Caguas, Puerto Rico/PRBA) went 1 for 3 with a run and two RBI, but it was not enough as Virginia Commonwealth University fell to George Mason University 8-5 in Colonial Athletic Association action Sunday afternoon at The Diamond.
The Rams (17-11, 4-4 CAA) won the series vs. the Patriots (12-15, 8-6 CAA) by virtue of a pair of one-run victories Friday and Saturday.
Junior right-hander Dan Jaycox (1-0) was the starter and winner for Mason, working 5.2 innings with five hits, three runs, two earned runs, two walks and six strikeouts. Sophomore righty Jordan Flasher recorded the final two outs for his third save.
The Patriots got on the board in the top of the first as junior second baseman Chris Fournier drew a one-out walk, stole second, moved to third on a throwing error by the catcher and scored on another error to give Mason an early 1-0 lead.
Mason added to its lead with three in the top of the third. With one out, sophomore outfielder Spencer Wiggins drew a walk and came home on a double to left by Fournier. Sophomore outfielder Scott Krieger deposited the next pitch over the wall in left center to give the Patriots a 4-0 advantage.
The Patriots pushed their lead to 6-0 in the fifth. Wiggins led off with a base hit to right, stole second and scored on a two-out double to right by junior first baseman Chris Romanow. Freshman outfielder Chris Henderson's single to left brought in Romanow with the second run of the inning.
VCU got on the board in the bottom of the fifth. Gonzalez reached on an error with one out, moved to second on a bunt single by freshman outfielder Matthew Leskiw (Plains, Pa./James) and came home a single up the middle by junior shortstop Sergio Miranda (Bayamon, Puerto Rico/PRBA) . Leskiw came in on a double to right by sophomore first baseman Jared Bolden (Lynchburg, Va./E.C. Glass) to close the margin to 6-2.
Mason got one of those runs back in the top of the sixth as junior catcher Jason Bour led off with a double to left, moved to third on a fielder's choice and scored on an error to make it 7-2.
The Rams added a run in the sixth as senior outfielder Kwan Evans (Hampton, Va./Bethel) was hit by a pitch with one out, stole second, moved to third on a fielder's choice and came home on a single by Gonzalez to narrow the gap to 7-3.
In the bottom of the eighth, sophomore third baseman Chris Jackson (Midlothian, Va./Manchester) led off with a triple to right and scored on a pinch-hit single by senior John Leonard (Virginia Beach, Va./Kellam) . Leonard moved to second on a single by Evans, advanced to third on a fielder's choice and scored on a sacrifice fly by Gonzalez to pull the Rams to within two at 7-5.
The Patriots tacked on an insurance run in the top of the ninth. Wiggins was hit by a pitch to start the inning. Fournier and Krieger each reached on bunt singles to load the bases. After Wiggins was forced out at the plate, Henderson hit a high bouncer to second that brought home Fournier to make the score 8-5.
VCU loaded the bases in the bottom of the ninth, but could not plate another run as it finished 8-5.
Fournier had two hits, three runs and an RBI for the Patriots. Krieger, Romanow and Henderson also had two hits for Mason.
