May 16, 2009

Box Score

Harrisonburg, Va. - The 27th-ranked George Mason baseball team closed out the 2009 regular season on Saturday afternoon and the Patriots suffered their first loss in the month of May as the Patriots fell to James Madison, 9-6. Mason had already locked up the top seed in the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament while the Dukes had already been eliminated. The Patriots will have three days off before beginning their quest for their first CAA Championship since 1992. Mason is the top seed in the CAA Tournament and will play sixth-seeded Delaware at Noon on Wednesday in the six-team double-elimination tournament.

At 40-10, Mason has the best winning percentage in the nation. The Patriots, 19-5 in the CAA, took the loss on Saturday despite getting two hits apiece from Justin Bour, Mark Hill and Ryan Uphouse. Mason stranded eight runners and hit into two double plays. James Madison (30-24, 12-11) got multiple RBI from David Herbek and Lee Bujakowski.

Making his first start since March 31 and his first appearance on the field since April 29, freshman Dan Schafferman came up big in the second inning when with two on and one out, he deposited a Justin Wood offering over the fence in straight-away center. It was his second home run of the year and first since April 11. He brought home Justin Bour, who had doubled, and Mark Hill, who had reached on an infield single. Later in the inning, with two outs, Ryan Uphouse hit a 2-0 pitch over the fence in left for his second homer of the year. His other homer came on March 1.

The Dukes got all the runs back in the bottom of the frame taking advantage of two walks, a hit batter and an error. With one out, Mike Fabiaschi was hit, Chris Johnson singled and McKinnon Langston and Lee Bujakowski walked to make it 4-1. A sacrifice fly by Matt Townsend made it 4-2 and an Alex Foltz single brought the Dukes to within one. The inning was seemingly over on a Trevor Knight grounder to third, but Hill threw the ball away, tying the game at 4-4.

In the third, Mason retook the lead with Bour, Ryan Soares and Hill hitting three straight singles to make it 5-4. But Hill strayed too far off first on Schafferman's shallow fly ball to right and he was doubled up to end the inning. The Dukes were able to tie the game again in the bottom of the third. Matt Browning singled, went to second and then third on a pair of ground outs, and after Langston walked, Bujakowski singled to tie the game. Townsend was hit by a pitch to load the bases but reliever Ryan Pfaeffle entered the game and got Foltz to pop out to short to leave the bases loaded.

In the middle of the fourth, the lightening and rains came and it was two hours and 20 minutes before action resumed in the final game at Long Field/Mauck Stadium. And although the score was still 5-5 in the top of the fifth, the Dukes got word that they were eliminated from CAA Tournament contention regardless of the outcome of Saturday's contest. In the sixth, Mason was able to retake the lead as Ryan Uphouse singled, went to second on Spencer Wiggins' sacrifice bunt, advanced to third on a throwing error and scored on a balk. The lead didn't last long, though as in the bottom of the sixth, Townsend reached on a one-out double, Knight drew a two-out walk and David Herbek homered to left to make it 8-6. Mason leftfielder Scott Krieger had to leave the game after the home run as he cut his arm jumping against the fence. In the eighth, Foltz added an RBI triple to make it 9-6.