SPARTANBURG, South Carolina – The George Mason softball team falls to Ball State and USC Upstate in its 2014 season openers.  The two games were part of the USC Upstate tournament held at Cyrill Stadium.

The first game for the patriots was a pitching duel against Ball State.  Anna Blessing got the start for Mason and gave up no runs until the sixth inning.  Blessing added eight strike outs in the game.  Brooke Blankenship also had a good game, going two for three.  Mary O'Connor, Angela Maioran, and Casey Price also had a hit in the game.

One RBI from Audrey Bickel and one RBI from Taylor Rager gave Ball State a 2-0 lead going into the seventh inning.  Kelsey Schifferdecker pitched a complete game for the Cardinals to take her record to 3-0 on the season.

The win takes Ball State to 4-1 on the season.

The Patriots lost a close one to home-team USC Upstate Sunday afternoon 3-2.  The loss takes George Mason to 0-2 on the season.  Meanwhile, USC Upstate remains undefeated at 7-0.

Mason jumped out to an early lead in the first inning after Brooke Blankenship scored an unearned run.  However, the Spartans took the lead in the second inning after scoring two runs off of a Cheyenne Griffin home run.

After another fielding error by the Spartans, Mary O'Connor scored an unearned run to tie the game at two.  USC Upstate took the lead back in the fifth after an unearned run by Lindsey Greeson.

Pitcher Anna Miller got her first win on the season, pitching a complete game for the Spartans and striking out 12 batters.  Meanwhile, sophomore Christina Gabriele pitched six innings, giving up only two earned runs on three strikeouts.

Up Next: The Green and Gold host their home opener against UMBC on Tuesday, February 18 at 2:30 p.m.