March 23, 2009

George Mason junior catcher Chris Henderson became just the second Patriot to ever hit for the cycle on Saturday and after hitting .442 for the week and .615 in a weekend conference series, he was named Colonial Athletic Association Player of the Week. Henderson and the Patriots, off to the best start in school history and they will host Maryland on Tuesday at 3 p.m.

The Patriots are 9-0 at home this year and they have won 14 straight at Spuhler Field dating back to last year. Mason is 20-16 all-time against Maryland but the Terrapins won both meetings last year. Those were the first two games against Maryland since 2002 when the Patriots swept the Terps with an 8-6 12-inning road win and a 2-1 home win. The Patriots are 12-6 all-time against Maryland at home.

Henderson is hitting .442 on the year with 12 doubles, five homers, 18 RBI and 20 runs scored. He's slugging .779 with a .500 on-base percentage and he has not made an error all season. Last week he hit .440 with five doubles, a triple, a home run, 4 RBI and six runs scored as the Patriots went 5-1. Mason is now 16-4 on the year and 2-1 in the CAA.

Henderson is eighth all-time at Mason in career doubles with 48 and he needs just 10 to move into a tie for first place. He is on pace to hit another 18 doubles this year, which would also give him the school's single-season record for doubles, which is currently 25. Henderson is also currently fourth all-time at Mason in career batting average.

The Patriots will send freshman Kevin Lingerman to the mound. In four appearances he has a 1.35 ERA in 13 and one-third innings pitched. As a starter, he has a 0.93 ERA in nine and two-third innings. When Lingerman is not in the game, the contest will be in good hands as the Mason bullpen has a 2.14 ERA in 71 and one-third innings this year. In particular, Jason Koziol, Jordan Flashers, Ryan Pfaeffle, Shawn Griffith and Ryan Brecko have excelled in relief combining to pitch 51 innings with a 1.24 ERA and 46 strikeouts with just 18 walks.

Brett Jones will take the mound for Maryland. He is 0-0 with a 6.38 ERA in eight appearances. He has pitched 18 and one-third innings with 22 hits and 13 walks allowed while striking out 10. Maryland (10-11) has a .275 batting average and A.J. Casario leads the team in batting with a .346 average, three home runs, 15 RBI and 20 runs scored. Mike Murphy is hitting .304 with four homers and 19 RBI.