April 1, 2009
Game One Box Score
Game Two Box Score
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The George Mason softball team made the short trip to George Washington on Wednesday afternoon, and each team came away with a victory. The Colonials took the first game, 3-2, before Mason responded with a 6-2 win on a rainy afternoon at Mount Vernon Field.
In the first game, the two teams managed to combine for just one hit in the first three innings, but the Patriots (14-20) got on the scoreboard first in the fourth. Senior Alison Bryan tripled to center field to lead off the inning, and a fielder's choice by freshman Tori Dudley allowed Bryan to cross the plate.
GW (10-19) was unable to counter the run until the bottom of the sixth inning, when Katie Terrazas singled to bring home Jamie Yaniga. Mason answered back in the next frame, as freshman Miranda Cranford blasted a solo shot to right-center field to return the lead to the Patriots, 2-1.
However, the Colonials found two runs in the bottom of the seventh to take the win. Yaniga drove in GW's second run with a bases-loaded, one-out fielder's choice, and the next batter, Krissy Mackiewicz, singled to left field to score the game-winning run.
Amanda Gabriel (5-10) earned the victory for the Colonials, pitching a complete game and allowing three hits while recording 14 strikeouts. For Mason, junior Becky Anderson (7-13) was saddled with the loss in a complete-game performance. Seven different GW batters recorded a hit in the game, while Bryan led the Patriots, going 2-for-3.
In the nightcap, the Mason offense got started early and led the way. Cranford, who picked up the victory and improved to 6-4 in a complete-game performance, helped her own cause with an RBI double in the first inning. The Patriots added their second run in the third, as Anderson singled to center field, allowing Bryan to score.
GW cut the deficit in half when Terrazas hit a solo home run to left field in the fourth inning, but again the Patriots found a response an inning later. Mason tallied three runs in the fifth inning, two coming on a base hit by freshman Rachael Davies. Cranford punctuated it with her second RBI of the game, a single to center which brought Davies home.
Mason's final run of the day came in the next inning, as Bryan's two-out double down the left field line scored sophomore Kara Weiner. The Colonials added one more run to their ledger in the bottom half of the sixth, as Terrazas scored on a wild pitch.
Heidi Penna (1-2) took the loss for the Colonials, allowing all six Mason runs (five earned) in six innings of work. Leading the Mason offense was freshman Alyssa See, who went 3-for-4, while Lauren Wilson was 2-for-3 to pace the Colonials.
The Patriots return to action this weekend, hosting Colonial Athletic Association foe Drexel for a three-game set beginning at noon on Saturday.
