May 18, 2007

Box Score

Wilmington, N.C. - The George Mason baseball team was unable to rebound after suffering a ninth-inning defeat in the opener of a doubleheader on Friday as the Patriots fell to UNC Wilmington at Brooks Field 11-4 in the seven-inning nightcap. With the loss, Mason appears locked into the fifth seed in next week's Colonial Athletic Association Tournament. The Seahawks scored in each of the first five innings and the Patriots were unable to mount a significant rally as UNC Wilmington extended its win streak to nine games.

After scoring 11 runs in the final four innings in the first game, the Seahawks (28-25, 17-11) stayed hot getting on the board first in the nightcap. Jason Appel hit a one-out single, Mark Carver was hit by a pitch with two outs and Jonathan Batts singled to right to score Appel for a 1-0 lead. A double steal on a 2-2 pitch brought home Carver and a Daniel Hargrave single to left made it 3-0.

The Seahawks made it worse in the second when Nate Hall led off by depositing the first pitch over the fence in centerfield for a 4-0 lead. Michael Rooney followed with a double, went to third on Grayson Evans' ground out and scored on Appel's high chopper to first. Despite the bases being empty, the damage wasn't done. Steve Halford singled, Carver reached on an error and Batts doubled to make it 7-0.

Mason (26-24, 14-13) got on the board in the third when Chris Romanow tripled down the rightfield line to lead off the inning, Ryan Uphouse and Spencer Wiggins walked and Romanow scored on a wild pitch. The other two runners advanced and scored on a Chris Fournier single to right-center, making it 7-3.

Trevor Rosenberg took the mound for Mason in the bottom of the third and after two quick outs, he got into trouble, walking Rooney, giving up a single to Evans and Appel followed with a double to make it 9-3. In the fourth, Carver led off the inning with a home run to make it 10-3. The Patriots scored in the fifth when Wiggins walked, went to second on a Fournier single to center and scored on a Justin Bour single to left. But that was the end of the scoring for Mason.

The Seahawks weren't done, though, as Hall and Rooney singled to lead off the fifth and Evans' ground out brought home Hall making it 11-4.

The Patriots and Seahawks conclude their series on Saturday when the teams play at Brooks Field at 2 p.m.