April 7, 2009

Box Score

Arlington, Va. - The George Mason baseball team played its first-ever game as a ranked team on Tuesday afternoon and the Patriots showed way they are ranked 25th in the nation by Collegiate Baseball and 30th by the NCBWA as Mason beat George Washington, 17-5 at Barcroft Park in Arlington. Playing on the road for the first time since March 29, Mason got homers from Justin Bour and Scott Krieger, the fourth time this season they have homered in the same game, and freshman Ryan Pfaeffle had another dominant start to push Mason to 25-5, the best record in school history.

Bour was 3 for 5 with two home runs and eight RBI while Krieger was 2 for 4 with three RBI and three runs scored. Spencer Wiggins, Brent Weiss and Ryan Uphouse each had two hits while Wiggins scored three runs. Pfaeffle allowed three earned runs on four hits and three walks in seven innings of work to improve to 2-0 on the year.

The Patriots struck quickly, putting together a two-out rally in the first. Krieger singled up the middle, the 500th total base of his career, and after he stole second, Bour homered to left to make it 2-0. In the second, Ryan Uphouse reached on a Texas League single to right-center and Spencer Wiggins and Chris Henderson followed with walks to load the bases with one out. Krieger reached on a fielder's choice and on the play, Henderson was safe at second on a fielding error by the second baseman. With the score 3-0, Bour hit a first-pitch grand slam over the fence in leftfield to make it 7-0.

In the third, Mason needed two pitches to score a run as Mark Hill and Brent Weiss each hit first-pitch doubles off reliever Jay Lively to make it 8-0. Ryan Uphouse followed with an RBI single to make it a nine-run lead. Despite putting three runners on in the fourth, Mason was finally kept off the scoreboard and in the bottom of the frame, GW got its first hit off Pfaeffle, a leadoff homer off the bat of Chris Holland.

In the fifth, Wiggins singled to the hole at short and with two outs, Krieger hit his 11th homer of the season and the 60th of his career for an 11-1 lead. In the sixth, Pfaeffle gave up his second hit of the game, this time a Holland single just over the glove of a leaping Weiss at short. But Pfaeffle got an inning-ending pop-up to end the frame. In the seventh, Mason rallied with two outs and no one on for a pair of runs. Wiggins singled through the right side, Henderson was hit by a pitch and Krieger walked to bring up Bour who singled to right-center to make it 13-1.

In the bottom of the seventh, Tim Reeves led off with a homer to center to make it 13-2. Brendon Kelliher singled up the middle, Curtis Eward walked and Kelliher came around to score when Soares failed to come up with Stephen Oswald's grounder. But Mason turned a double-play on Andrew Haberern's grounder and despite Eward scoring, the rally was over. In the eighth, Mason got all the runs back and then some.

Aaron Tenney led off with a pinch-hit single, Hill and Weiss walked and pinch-hitter Dan Schafferman hit an RBI fielder's choice to make it 14-4. After Wiggins lined out, Henderson homered to left to make it 17-4. The Colonials got a Tom Zebroski single, a Holland ground out and a Rockey single to make it 17-5 in the eighth.

The Patriots will return to action on Wednesday when they host Liberty at 3 p.m. Mason will have its 20-game home winning streak on the line, the nation's longest active home winning streak.