May 15, 2009

Box Score

Harrisonburg, Va. - The 27th-ranked George Mason baseball team made Division I school history on Friday afternoon as the Patriots picked up their 40th win of the season, besting the previous school record set in 1992 and matched in 2004. Mason reached the milestone victory by beating James Madison, 16-6. The Patriots (40-9), already the nation's top team in terms of winning percentage, became the fourth team in the nation to reach 40 wins this season. Coastal Carolina and LSU entered the day with 40 wins and moments before Mason's game ended, North Carolina also reached the milestone.

Mason's entire lineup was productive as four players had multiple hits and five had multiple RBI. Mike Modica (10-1) allowed one earned run after the first inning as he gave up just six hits while striking out nine in seven innings.

Mason was on the board on Friday before the Dukes recorded an out. Spencer Wiggins reached on an error, Chris Henderson singled through the left side and Scott Krieger hit a double off the base of the wall in right-center to bring home the runners for a 2-0 lead. After a pop out and a ground out, Shane Davis took a 2-1 pitch and deposited it well over the wall in centerfield to put the Patriots ahead, 4-0.

The Dukes wasted no time getting runs back. Alex Foltz and Trevor Knight singled to lead off the first and Matt Townsend walked to load the bases with no outs. David Herbek struck out but the first putch to Matt Browning was wild bringing home Foltz and the throw back to home hit the runner, allowing Knight to score as well. Browning singled to plate Townsend and make it 4-3. A Mike Fabiaschi double tied the game at 4-4.

The game remained tied until the fourth when the Patriots put a pair of runs on the board. Mark Hill singled to right, Brent Weiss reached on an infield single and the runners advanced on a throwing error. Ryan Uphouse singled to left to bring the pair home for a 6-4 Mason lead. It could have been a bigger inning after Chris Henderson was intentionally walked with one out and a runner on third but Krieger and Justin Bour struck out to end the inning.

In the fifth, Mason got a two-out single from Hill who scored on a double by Weiss. Again the Patriots let the Dukes off the hook as Uphouse and Wiggins walked to load the bases, but Henderson flew out to deep left to end the frame. In the sixth, Mason pushed the lead to five runs as Krieger led off with a single and Bour homered to left to make it 9-4. In the seventh, Weiss singled, went to second on a Ryan Uphouse grounder which was booted, and scored after Spencer Wiggins hit a sacrifice bunt and a throwing error allowed the ball to get away. Chris Henderson walked to load the bases with no outs and Justin Bour's grounder brought home Uphouse to make it 11-5. Ryan Soares followed with a single to center to make it an eight-run game, 13-5.

Alex Fultz added a solo homer with two outs in the seventh to make it 13-6. The Dukes also loaded the bases in the eighth but failed to score. The Patriots made it a 10-run game in the ninth as Krieger walked, Bour was hit by a pitch and Soares homered to left to make it 16-6. It was Soares' 10th homer making him the fourth Patriot to reach double figures in homers this year.

Mason and James Madison will conclude their three game series on Saturday with first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m.