April 2, 2009

Fairfax, Va. - The George Mason baseball team has the nation's longest active home winning streak having won all 12 games this year and 17 straight dating back to last season. On Friday, the Patriots will face their biggest challenge of the season as they host nationally-ranked UNC Wilmington at Spuhler Field. Mason and UNCW will begin their three-game series on Friday at 3 p.m. with the Patriots sending Kevin Crum (3-2) to the mound to face Daniel Cropper (3-1).

The Patriots are off to the best start in school history and at 21-5, they are one of the few teams in the nation to already reach 20 wins. Mason has one of the country's best winning percentages and is among the top 20 in the country in runs allowed per game. Mason will be looking to tie the school record for consecutive home wins. Those 18 straight were set from April of 2003 through March of 2004.

The Seahawks are 17-7 on the year and ranked 30th in the NCBWA poll, down from 26 last week. The Patriots are receiving votes in that poll as well, but remain shy of being ranked. After opening the season with nine straight wins and a 17-3 mark in their first 20 contests, the Seahawks have dropped four straight, all to top 25 teams. They lost at home to North Carolina, 8-1, they lost at East Carolina, 3-0, and they dropped a home-and-home series with Coastal Carolina, losing 4-3 in 11 innings on the road and 3-2 at home.

Mason was picked to finish second in the CAA this year in a preseason poll of the league's coaches. The Seahawks were picked to finish third. Currently, UNCW is in first with a 5-1 mark while Mason is tied for second with Delaware at 4-2. Both Mason and UNCW have excelled this year through pitching. The Patriots have a 3.83 team ERA, second in the CAA and 38th in the nation. The Seahawks have a 4.12 ERA, third in the conference and 46th in the country. Mason is hitting .309 as a team while UNC Wilmington is batting .295.

Mason has had exceptional performances from the bullpen which is 10-1 with 10 saves and a 2.31 ERA. In 93.2 innings of work, the relievers have allowed a .241 batting average with 86 hits and 31 walks with 87 strikeouts. The Mason offense has five players batting .320 or better. Chris Henderson is second in the CAA in batting average and third in doubles, slugging percentage and on-base percentage. He is hitting .445 with 12 doubles, five homers, 23 RBI, 29 runs, a .508 on-base percentage and a .727 slugging percentage. He is on pace to set the school record for hits in a season. Scott Krieger is batting .343 with nine homers and 31 RBI. He is the nation's active leader in career homers.

The Seahawks have two players batting better than .320 and four better than .300. Ben Thielsen leads UNCW with a .338 average while Grayson Evans is hitting .330. Robbie Monday and Cody Stanley have 12 of the team's 17 homers with six apiece. Steven Davis has been strong out of the bullpen with a 3-0 record and three saves in 14 appearances with a 0.75 ERA. Opponents are hitting .108 off of him. Tyler McSwain has a 1.59 ERA while Bryan Booth has a 1.98 ERA. Both have made a dozen or more appearances.

Wilmington leads the all-time series between the teams, 45-37. Mason is 17-15 at Spuhler Field and the teams split the four meetings last year, all in Wilmington. Mason won the last contest, a 14-9 victory in the CAA Tournament that eliminated the top-seeded Seahawks.