AMHERST, Mass. – The George Mason baseball team (26-16, 13-5)scored twice in the top of the first inning and never looked back, completing its eighth shutout victory of the season with a 7-0 win over UMass (10-28, 7-13) on Saturday afternoon.
The duo of Jared Gaynor and Taylor Hunt surrendered eight hits in the victory and forced the Minutemen to strand 11 men on base. Gaynor earned his seventh win of the season after pitching the first seven innings in his 11th start of the season, allowing five and hits and three walks as he struck out six batters and picked off his sixth batter of the season in the third inning.
Luke Willis led off the game with a double into right-center field, his 15th extra base hit of the season. Up next, Brandon Gum reached base for the first of four times on an error by UMass' third baseman to advance Willis to third. A wild pitch advanced both runners, scoring Willis followed by another wild pitch that moved Gum to third. Blaise Fernandez lofted a fly ball into left field to give Mason the 2-0 lead before UMass had a chance to bat. The Minutemen defense committed five errors in the ballgame, match the five in Friday's contest.
UMass left two runners on base in five of the nine innings in the ballgame as Gaynor worked out of trouble to keep runs off the board. Both teams were kept scoreless from the second to fifth innings as Andrew Grant struck out all four of his batters in that time frame. The UMass starter also threw seven innings, allowing four runs to score, three of them earned on five hits with two walks.
The Patriots added an insurance run in the top of the sixth along with three more in the eighth and one in the ninth. Gum scored three of the four runs in that span, reaching base on a single, walk and a second error by Nik Campero at third base. Tucker Tobin and Anthony Montefusco knocked in back-to-back runs with singles in the eighth while Ray Toto added the final run with a single into left field in the top of the ninth. Eight of nine Patriots contributed at least one hit in the game.
Hunt entered the game in the top of the eighth and pitched the final two scoreless innings, allowing three hits and striking out two Minutemen. The righty also induced the game-ending 4-6-3 to complete the shutout.
With the series already won, Mason looks for the sweep of UMass on Sunday, May 4 in a noon time first pitch.
