MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. - Senior outfielder Dan Schafferman hit a
grand slam in the top of the third and the hot Mason hitting continued as the
Patriots defeated Virginia Tech, 7-1, on Saturday evening at BB&T Coastal
Field.
After two and a half scoreless innings Mason dented the
scoreboard in the bottom of the third. With one out senior catcher Jake
Leonardo singled, and then sophomore shortstop Jordan Hill was hit by a pitch
and junior second baseman Chris Cook singled to load the bases. After senior
third baseman Brig Tison fouled out to first, Schafferman stepped to the plate
and delivered a grand slam ball to left center field, his second home run of
the season, giving the Patriots a 4-0 lead.
Virginia Tech registered a run in the top of the sixth, as right
fielder Jake Atwell tripled with one out and then scored on a single by second baseman Alex Perez to pull the Hokies
to within three, 4-1.
Another run crossed the plate for Mason in the bottom of the
seventh. Hill started the inning with a single to left field, and then advanced
to second base on a wild pitch and third base on a groundout from Cook. Tison
struck out swinging but advanced to first on a wild pitch, allowing Hill to
score from third.
Mason added two more runs in the bottom of the eighth
inning, securing the 7-1 win to improve to 3-3 overall.
Schafferman finished the game 2-for-5 with a grand slam,
four RBI's and one run scored. Tison added the other two Mason RBI's in the
contest, going 2-for-5 at the plate.
Sophomore Anthony Montefusco (1-0) earned the win, working
7.0 innings, scattering six hits with seven strikeouts while giving up just one
earned run and a walk. Junior Chris O'Grady pitched two scoreless innings in
relief, striking out four.
Zecchino took the loss, throwing 6.1 innings with seven
hits, five earned runs and five strikeouts. Joyce worked 0.2 innings, allowing
one hit with a strikeout, while Tanner McIntyre threw 1.0 innings of relief,
giving up two earned runs on three hits with a strikeout.
The Patriots conclude play at the Coastal Carolina Baseball
at the Beach tournament tomorrow, facing West Virginia at 11:00 am.
