BOSTON - The George Mason baseball team scored first on a Josh
Leemhuis RBI single in the first inning, but the Northeastern Huskies responded
in the bottom half and never trailed again, earning a 6-3 victory in the
opening game of the two teams' Colonial Athletic Association series at Friedman
Diamond. Mason snapped a six-game winning streak, falling to 23-12 (9-7 CAA),
while the Huskies improved to 4-9 in conference, 14-15 overall.
Anthony Montefusco (4-2) started and pitched six innings,
allowing five runs on seven hits while fanning six Huskies as he took his
second loss of the season. For NU, Andrew Leenhouts improved to 4-2 after 6.2
innings, scattering five hits and allowing two runs while walking five and
striking out six Patriots. Dylan Maki came on in the seventh and finished the
game, earning his first save of the year.
Mason's offense was led by a three-hit day for senior Zack
Helgeson, while Mick Foley went 2-for-4, as the duo accounted for more than
half of the Patriots' eight hits. Aaron Barbosa was 4-for-5 while Jon Leroux
and Jason Vosler each drove in a pair of runs to pace the Husky offense.
After Brig Tison walked and Helgeson singled through the
left side, Leemhuis drove the ball to center field, dropping in a base hit and
allowing Tison to score from second. Both Helgeson and Leemhuis moved up 90
feet on a Leenhouts wild pitch, but the Patriots were held to one run in the
opening frame.
NU answered in the bottom half, plating Barbosa and Matt
Miller after Leroux's sacrifice fly to left and a Vosler double to deep right
field. It made the score 2-1, and after a scoreless second, Leroux's single
through the left side allowed Barbosa to score and gave the Huskies a 3-1
advantage.Two more runs came home for NU in the bottom of the fourth, after
Barbosa's RBI base hit up the middle and a John Puttress sacrifice fly left the
score 5-1.
Mason, which was held hitless from the second through the
sixth innings, cut the deficit to three
runs in the seventh inning after Tison beat out Vosler's throw from second on a
grounder with the bases loaded, allowing Blaise Fernandez to score from third.
The Huskies answered on Vosler's RBI single to left center in the bottom half,
his second RBI which brought in Miller from third and made it a 6-2 game.
The Patriots added their final run on Foley's RBI single
through the left side in the eighth, scoring Helgeson after he led off the
inning with a double to left. Mason left runners on the corners in the eighth
and got two runners on with no outs in the ninth, but NU turned a double play
and induced a ground out by Helgeson to end the game.
Mason will look to even the series when the teams meet for
game two on Saturday afternoon, with first pitch scheduled for 12 p.m.
