PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – Starting pitcher John Williams pitched seven scoreless innings with only two hits allowed and seven Patriots recorded a hit in George Mason baseball's 4-0 shutout victory over La Salle on Saturday.
Mason improves to 21-25-1 overall while La Salle moves to 22-24-1 overall. Both teams are now 10-10 in the Atlantic 10 with one more game to play against each other this weekend.
Williams allowed a leadoff single in the top of the first and a leadoff walk in the bottom of the third, his only two base runners until Collin McGowan hit his second single of the day off of Williams in the sixth inning. Williams' day ended with six strikeouts as he improved to 6-5 this season and pitched in his third shutout of the year.
The Patriots snagged the first run of the ballgame in the top of the third. Michael Smith reached first after beating out a ground ball to second with two outs and was followed by Brandon Gum's triple into deep center field for the 1-0 advantage. Gum went 2-4 on the day with the RBI, improving his hit streak to 24 games.
Mason cashed in another run in the top of the fourth with the bases loaded. Tyler Nelin led off with a single and stole second base before advancing to third on Ray Toto's single up the middle. Jake Kalish walked to load the bases and Luke Willis was hit by a high fastball in the next at bat to plate Nelin.
As Williams finished his day on the mound the Patriots were able to add two insurance runs in the top of the eighth. Brady Acker induced a leadoff walk and while stealing second he advanced to third on a poor throw. Up next, Trevor Kelly ripped a ball into center field to put the score at 3-0. Kelly also advanced two bases, this time on a wild pitch and eventually came in to score on a ground ball to shortstop that Willis beat out for a hit, extending his active hit streak to 25 games.
Evan Porcella pitched the bottom half of the inning and the first out of the ninth inning before Tyler Tobin entered with runners on first and second. He was able to force pinch hitter Derek Prucnal into the game-ending 4-6-3 double play with the tying run on deck for his eighth save.
As a result of the victory head coach Bill Brown also recorded his 950th career victory, all coming at George Mason.
The rubber game of the series is scheduled for noon on Sunday, March 10.
