April 22, 2008
Game One Box Score
Game Two Box Score
FAIRFAX, Va. - The George Mason softball team opened up its final homestand of the 2008 season in dominating fashion, as the Patriots defeated North Carolina Central by 8-0 and 12-0 margins in non-conference action Wednesday afternoon at George Mason Field. Mason (19-26) ended the season 6-0 in home midweek play, as it held the Eagles (3-42) to a combined seven hits on the day.
Junior Paige Miller (2-1) and sophomore Whitney Bullins (2-1) each picked up victories, both holding the Eagles scoreless in the first complete game of their respective careers. Miller struck out six batters while allowing five hits, while Bullins fanned three Eagle batters and gave up just two hits. Neither allowed a walk on the day, while Kristen Schooler (2-24) pitched both games for NCCU.
Sophomore Ashli Breau continued her potent offensive production as she was 4-for-4 with three RBIs, including a two-run home run, in the opening game. She followed that up with a 1-for-2, one-RBI performance in the nightcap. The Patriots were led by two-hit games from sophomore Ciera Jones and junior Vickie Brill in the second game. Brill, along with freshman Kara Weiner, tallied three RBIs as well.
The first game, which ended in the bottom of the sixth, saw Mason slowly build its lead. Weiner hit a sacrifice fly to score the game's first run in the second inning, and Breau made it a three-run lead when she took a Schooler pitch over the right-center field fence in the third. The Patriots plated four runs in the fourth, and closed out the scoreboard in the sixth inning when, with the bases loaded, freshman Stephanie Strother was hit by a pitch.
In the nightcap, the Patriots wasted no time putting the game out of reach. A bases-loaded walk issued to Brill put Mason ahead 1-0 in the first, and the Patriots exploded for eight runs in the second inning, highlighted by a three-RBI triple by Weiner to right field. Mason added a trio of runs an inning later on RBI hits from Jones, Breau and Brill.
The Patriots will host their final home games of the year this weekend when they take on James Madison, beginning with a noon doubleheader Saturday. In the intermission between the two games, Mason will honor seniors Kristin Dickel, Lesley Hassen and Katlyn Winter, who will be playing in their final home games.
