TOWSON, Md. – The George Mason baseball team (22-14, 9-4) let a 6-0 lead after two innings slip away as the Towson Tigers (18-17) defeated the Patriots in a high scoring, non-conference affair by the score of 13-9 on Wednesday afternoon.
The Patriots got off to a quick start when Luke Willis lined his second homerun of the season over the left field wall on the second pitch of the game for the abrupt 1-0 lead. Mason scored two more in the inning after the first five batters of the game reached base, chasing Towson starter Joe Patton out of the game after one-third of an inning. Brandon Gum singled to reach base and eventually came around to score on a wild pitch while Patrick Esposito drew a bases loaded walk to extend the lead to 3-0 and collect his first RBI of the season.
The top of the order got things started in the second inning as well when Willis led off with his third triple of the season and Gum batted him in with a single up the middle. Both men went 3-5 in the ballgame, scored two runs and brought home one. A throwing error moved Gum all the way home from first and let Blaise Fernandez reach third, where he was brought home by Tucker Tobin on a sacrifice fly to make it 6-0 after two innings.
Making his third start of the season on the mound was Jake Kalish (1-1), who allowed one hit through the first two innings before giving up four runs in the third and exiting the game after two and two-thirds innings pitched with six strikeouts. The Tigers used four singles in the inning to cut their deficit to 6-4, highlighted by two RBI from Kurt Wertz.
Wertz made more noise in the fourth inning after the first three Tigers used singles to load the bases with no outs. The senior blasted his fifth homerun of the season, a grand slam to give Towson the 8-4 lead. Neight Hoffa surrendered the bomb, allowing all four runs on four hits in one-third inning pitched. Wertz was 3-5 with seven RBI in the game.
Towson scored two more in the fifth inning and another two in the sixth to make it 12-7 after six innings. Mason scored its seventh run in the top of the sixth when Fernandez brought home Mick Foley on a bases loaded fielders choice groundout. Fernandez went 1-5 on the afternoon with one RBI. The Patriots ended the game with 14 hits while the Tigers scored their 13 runs on 15 hits.
Michael Bowie followed up Hoffa on the mound, allowing two runs to score on three hits in his two innings of work before he was relieved by Rich McMahon in the top of the sixth, pitching another two innings and allowing three runs to score. Ryan Galvin pitched a clean top of the ninth as the fifth pitcher to take the mound for Mason.
Trailing 13-7 in the top of the eighth, the Patriots made one last comeback attempt when Fernandez led off the frame with a double down the left field line. Tobin, who went 2-5 with an RBI, singled to move Fernandez to third, eventually coming home when Derek Evans singled after entering the game in the seventh inning for his fourth RBI of the season. Chris Cook knocked in the final run with a bases loaded single two batters later, however the inning ended with two strikeouts. The Patriots left 14 men on base in the ballgame.
The Patriots head back to Maryland on Wednesday, April 23 when they play the second and final game of the season against the University of Maryland in College Park at 6:00 p.m.
