FAIRFAX, Va. – The George Mason softball team fell to Fordham in a close game to wrap up the regular season.  The Patriots were defeated 1-0 in nine innings by the Rams on senior day.  Fordham won the two previous matchups yesterday. 

This game was a pitching duel from the very beginning between Sarah Kleinfelter and Rachel Gillen.  Both pitchers kept the game scoreless through the first seven innings.  Kleinfelter gave up six hits total and no runs, while Gillen gave up two hits and no runs.  Christina Gabriele also pitched two innings for Mason and gave up just four hits and no earned runs.  Michele Daubman picked up the win for Fordham as she pitched the final two innings and gave up one hit and no runs.

Gillen had a perfect game going into the seventh inning before Liz Seymour hit a single up the middle.  However, the Patriots were not able to score in that inning.  In the top of the ninth inning, the Rams scored the first and only run of the game on a Morgan Figueroa RBI single.  Fordham would go on to win the game and sweep the series with a final score of 1-0 in nine innings.

Despite the loss, the Patriots still earned a spot in the A-10 Tournament next week hosted by UMass.  This will be the Patriots first postseason appearance since the CAA Tournament in 2003.  Mason will earn the fourth seed and take on the fifth seed, La Salle to open the tournament. The tournament will start on Wednesday, March 6.  The Patriots open the tournament with the first game at noon.