FAIRFAX, Va. – Senior Jake Kalish struck out 10 batters over seven innings pitched while also driving home the winning run as the George Mason baseball team defeated Davidson 3-2 in a come-from-behind victory on Friday afternoon.
Mason improves to 19-23-1 overall and more importantly evens its conference record at 8-8. Davidson falls to 11-8 in the Atlantic 10 with the loss, 22-17 overall.
Kalish began with two strikeouts in the top of the first inning and had at least one in six of his seven innings pitched. He improves to 5-4 this season with the win after allowing six hits and two earned runs with a season-high 10 strikeouts to only one walk.
Davidson scored its only two runs off of Kalish in the top of the fourth inning. The Wildcats led off the frame with a single and a walk before both runners were bunted over 90 feet. Ben Arkin delt the two-run blow with a single up the middle after the bunt.
Clark Beeker kept Mason off of the base paths for the first three and two-thirds innings before allowing Kent Blackstone to walk. The hits came for Mason in the bottom of the fifth thanks to the freshmen trio of Tyler Nelin, Brady Acker and Trevor Kelly, who respectively singled, singled and doubled to cut the two-run deficit in half.
The Patriots grabbed the lead for the first time in the bottom of the sixth and would not let go. Luke Willis and Brandon Gum singled and doubled to lead off, respectively extending their hit streaks to 21 and 20 games. Willis came home on a wild pitch by Beeker which advanced Gum to third, and Kalish would hit his slow grounder to second base with one out two batters later that allowed Gum to touch home and give Mason the 3-2 lead.
Evan Porcella threw a scoreless eighth inning with one walk and forced Lee Miller to fly out to the right field warning track with runners on first and second base to end the inning. Tyler Tobin pitched a perfect ninth with a game-ending called strikeout for his sixth save.
The series continues on Saturday, May 2 with a 2:00 p.m. scheduled first pitch.
