March 9, 2010
Mason-Mount St. Mary's Box Score
Mason-Hampton Box Score
FAIRFAX, Va. - The George Mason softball team dropped a pair of games Tuesday on the opening day of its Spring Midweek Invitational, falling 2-1 in extra innings to Mount St. Mary's before a 5-2 loss to Hampton. The Patriots stand at 1-5 on the season following the day's action.
In their first game of the day, the Patriots and Mountaineers needed extra innings to decide the outcome, with the Mount plating a run in the ninth inning while Mason could not answer back. Freshman Amanda Buffington took the loss in her collegiate debut after allowing the unearned run in the ninth, working two innings in relief.
Amanda Sadowl tossed a complete game, allowing three hits and six walks to pick up the victory. Leading the Mason offense was sophomore Rachael Davies who went 2-for-4 at the plate. Katie Donovan's 2-for-4 game paced the Mount offense.
Sadowl issued a bases-loaded walk with two outs in the second inning to sophomore Miranda Cranford, bringing home sophomore Katie Rynex for the first run of the day. Mount St. Mary's response came in the very next inning, as Donovan led off with a bunt single and scored from third on an RBI groundout by Taylor Beebe to knot the score at one run.
The score would stay there through the regulation seven innings and into the first bonus frame, but with the tiebreaker rules in effect into the ninth inning, pinch runner Erin Leddy was sacrificed from second and came home on Donovan's RBI single to first.
Mason's baserunnner, freshman Daria Siwczak, started on second but was tagged out on a fielder's choice at third base. Another fielder's choice and a fly out by Mason ended the game and gave the Mount the victory.
In the second game of the day, Mason faced Hampton and fell behind early in the second inning as Sharde Estep scored on a fielding error to open the scoreboard. Two innings later, the Lady Pirates added four more runs. Jada Jeffries singled to center field and drove in two runs, and would come home to score on a sacrifice. Two batters later, Travonna Byrd tripled to right-center field and added the final RBI.
The Patriots responded in the bottom half of the fifith inning, as Rynex's RBI single brought home Tori Dudley. That would be it for the scoring as, despite Rynex's three and one-third innings of shutout, one-hit pitching, Mason could not mount an offensive charge to take the lead.
Cranford took the loss as she allowed five runs (four earned) in three-plus innings of work. Sydni Benton's complete game for the Lady Pirates improved her record to 1-2 on the year. Estep was 2-for-3 from the plate to lead all players while six different Patriots tallied a hit.
The Mason Spring Midweek Invitational continues Wednesday when the Patriots will first face Hampton at 10:30 before meeting up with the Mountaineers immediately thereafter.
