KINGSTON, RI – For the second consecutive game, the George Mason baseball team (22-12, 9-3) kept Rhode Island (6-27, 2-10) off the scoreboard and recorded a 7-0 victory over the Rams behind the complete game, five-hit shutout effort of Jared Gaynor on Saturday.
Gaynor improves his record to 6-2 this season, tied with Anthony Montefusco for the team lead and lowers his ERA to 1.08. The senior allowed one walk and struck out five on 107 pitches and tosses his second complete-game shutout of the season and third total complete game. Lou Distasio made the start for the Rams and moves to 2-3, allowing two runs on seven hits in four a two-thirds innings pitched.
Scoring for the Patriots started in in the third inning with a string of three consecutive hits. Mick Foley reached base on a one-out single, followed by Luke Willis' single to center and Brandon Gum's double into the left field corner that scored Foley and Willis to put Mason up 2-0. Gum has reached base safely in the last 20 games and the Patriots improve to 16-4 when scoring the first runs of the ballgame.
Both teams were held scoreless through the middle four innings with Gaynor retiring the side in order in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings along with the first and eighth. The only walk of the game for the Rams came in the second inning while Mason drew seven off three separate Rhode Island pitchers.
Insurance runs for Gaynor came in the eighth inning with the help of two wild pitches from Brad Applin. Chris Cook was hit by his 22nd pitch of the season with one out in the inning and was brought home in the next at bat when Foley tripled into left-center field, his second of the season, and later came home to score on the first wild pitch of the inning. Willis then walked for the second time in the game and Gum singled into right field for his second hit to reach base. Willis made it home from second on a second wild pitch and made the score 5-0 after eight.
Only one batter in the Rams' lineup reached second base, Mike Corin twice in the second and seventh innings. Corin also grounded into the game-ending 5-4-3 double play. The Patriots added on two more runs in the top of the ninth with more runners scoring on a wild pitch and a throwing error.
Mason looks for its first series sweep of the season on Sunday, April 20 when they play the Rams for the final time this season. First pitch is slated for noon. Live stats and audio can be found by clicking here.
