April 8, 2008

Box Score

Arlington, Va. - The George Mason baseball team rallied from a 4-0 first-inning deficit and the Patriots scored in six of the nine innings it batted as Mason took an 15-6 road win over George Washington on Tuesday afternoon.

Ryan Soares had five hits, seven RBI and four runs, Justin Bour had a pair of RBI and extended his hitting streak to 13 games and Scott Krieger hit his 12th homer of the year. Kris Mengle (2-2) picked up the win, pitching seven innings and allowing four earned runs on seven hits with one walk and four strikeouts.

The Colonials (16-14) took an early 4-0 lead when they scored four runs on four hits and two errors in the first. Brendon Kelliher led off with a single, Tom Zebroski followed with a double and Tim Reeves singled up the middle to make it 2-0. Andrew Abokhair reached on an error and after a wild pitch put runners on second and third, Charlie Kruer singled to make it 3-0. On the play, the ball was mishandled in right and Abokhair scored to make it 4-0.

Mason (14-17) got a run back in the second when Aaron Tenney reached on an error, went to second when Ryan Uphouse was hit by a pitch, stole third and scored on a throwing error on the play by the catcher. But the Colonials again made it a four-run lead in the bottom of the frame when Chris Marsicano homered to right center to lead off the inning.

In the top of the third, Mason broke through for a pair of runs as Soares singled, Chris Henderson walked and Krieger singled to make it 5-2. With runners on first and third, Mark Hill missed a game-tying homer by a foot, instead settling for an RBI double and a two-run deficit. In the fourth, with two outs, Ryan Soares singled one pitch after almost being called out on strikes. His check swing kept his at-bat alive and after his hit, Chris Henderson singled. The runners each advanced a base when the rightfielder mishandled the ball and they both scored to tie the game at 5-5 on Bour's single up the middle.

George Washington retook the lead in the bottom of the fifth when Zebroski led off with a solo homer. In the top of the sixth, Mason got back-to-back singles from Brent Weiss and Spencer Wiggins to lead off the inning putting runners on the corners. Soares came through with his fourth hit of the day, a double to right-center to give Mason its first lead of the game. Chris Henderson's single up the middle made it 8-6.

In the seventh, Uphouse and Weiss had back-to-back one-out doubles to make it 9-6. A Wiggins single put runners on the corners and Soares' slow roller in front of the mound made it 10-6 as Weiss scored just under the tag at the plate. Krieger's homer, a solo shot to lead off the eighth, made it 11-6. Later in the inning, Tenney reached on an error, Uphouse walked, Wiggins was hit by a pitch and Soares followed with a grand slam making it 15-6.

Mason will next take the field on Wednesday when the Patriots host Richmond at 3 p.m. at Spuhler Field.