March 3, 2008

The George Mason baseball team will take the field on Tuesday afternoon in the Patriots' home opener as Mason will take on George Washington at Spuhler Field at 2:30 p.m. The Patriots have 26 home games scheduled this year with 11 of those contests coming against non-conference opponents.

The Patriots (1-6) have played hot and cold this year. Three times Mason has scored nine or more runs in a game and three times the Patriots have scored one or fewer. The pitching has been hot and cold as well. Three times the staff has allowed 10 or more runs while three times holding the opposition to six or fewer.

Mason is batting .279 as a team but the Patriots have clubbed 12 home runs. Mark Hill has four long balls while batting .286. He has seven RBI. Scott Krieger has three homers and eight RBI while hitting .276. Justin Bour has performed the best of any every-day player, hitting .370 with two homers, seven RBI and a .704 slugging percentage. Spencer Wiggins is hitting .300 with four steals. As a team, Mason is 9 of 10 on the base paths.

George Washington has had little trouble so far this season, as the Colonials have gotten out of the gate quickly, starting the year 5-1. Time Reeves is hitting .529 with seven RBI and Tom Zebroski is hitting .393. Four regulars are hitting .353 or better. As a team, GW is batting .312 while getting excellent pitching. The Colonials have a 3.98 staff ERA. Jimmy Dugan has two saves and has not allowed a run in three appearances.

The Patriots were 18-9 at home last year at Spuhler Field and Mason has had a winning record at home the past 13 seasons.