May 16, 2010
Box Score
Ryan Soares broke a 19-year-old school record and hit a pair of home runs but the Patriots were unable to snap their losing streak as Mason fell to VCU on Sunday, 10-6 at Spuhler Field. Mason, which suffered its seventh-straight loss, was swept at home by the Rams for the first time in school history. The Patriots are still in contention for the CAA Tournament, however, as Mason will get in if they sweep three games from Towson next weekend and Georgia State wins just one of three at home against William & Mary.
With a runner on in the first, Soares lined a double to left field, his 26th double of the season breaking the school record of 25 which was set by Pete Adams in 1991 and tied by Evan Howard in 2002. Soares, who entered the week leading the nation in doubles per game, also hit a pair of solo homers, his second multi-homer game of the season. He is the only Mason player with a multi-homer game this year. Soares was 3 for 4 with three RBI while Brig Tison and Nick Allen each had two hits. Brent Mikionis was 3 for 4 with five RBI for VCU while M.L. Morgan, Richard Gonzalez, Joe Van Meter, John Lenherr and Nick Kime all had multiple hits as VCU had 17 hits in the contest.
The Rams (30-20-1, 15-5-1 CAA) jumped out in the first with three runs off Mason starter Chris O'Grady. Morgan singled up the middle and scored on a Gonzalez double. A Mikionis double made it 2-0 and a Kime two-out double made it 3-0. The Patriots answered by taking the lead in the bottom of the inning, though. Tison singled and scored on a Soares double. The senior shortstop came home on a Dan Palumbo single and Jeremy Haas followed with his fourth homer of the season, a shot to leftfield to put Mason (27-19, 10-11) ahead 4-3.
In the third, Soares led off with a homer to make it 5-3. But the Rams answered in the fourth when Lenherr and Kime hit singles that trickled through the infield and a pair of groundouts made it 5-4. Matt Cheatham's infield single made it 5-5. The Rams took the lead in the fifth when Gonazles singled, Van Meter doubled and the pair scored on a Mikionis single through the left side. The VCU lead grew to 9-5 in the seventh when Van Meter singled and Mikionis homered. Soares' 10th homer of the season made it 9-6 but the Rams added an insurance run in the ninth as Morgan and Gonzalez singled, the pair executed a double steal and Lenherr's fielder's choice made it 10-6.
Soares, who also entered the week sixth in the nation in RBI per game, ran his season total to 63 in just 44 games. He was one of nine seniors the Patriots honored pre-game as it was Alumni Day. The Patriots do have one home game remaining as they will face Georgetown on Tuesday at 3 p.m. in their final non-conference game of the season. Soares needs just one more double to tie the school's career record for doubles. That mark of 58 was set by Howard in 2003 and tied last year by Chris Henderson. If Soares can manage two more sacrifice flies, he will also tie the national record for sacrifice flies in a single season. He currently has 12.
