Spartanburg, S.C. – The George Mason baseball team fell to 0-3 to start the season after wrapping up the first weekend of play with an 11-6 loss on Sunday afternoon to Wofford College at Russell C. King Field.
In the first inning, Wofford collected two singles, three walks and took advantage of a pair of Mason throwing errors to build a 5-0 the lead on Patriots starter Bryce Nightengale (0-1). Sophomore McClain Bradley and senior Demetrius Jennings each drove in a run with a RBI single in the inning. With the bases loaded, Cody Miller also picked up a RBI when he was hit by a pitch and Alec Paradowski forced in a run when he drew a walk with the bases full of Terriers. Wofford sent 11 batters to the plate in the home half of the first.
The Terriers increased the lead to 7-0 in the third. After a leadoff walk, Jennings connected on a 2-2 pitch and sent it over the left field fence for his first collegiate home run. Wofford had two more hits in the inning but were unable to push another run across the plate.
In the bottom of the fourth, Wofford put together three straight singles to load the bases for the third time in the game. Sophomore Alex Malsch then made the score 8-0 with a sacrifice fly to right field. The Terriers had at least one base runner in every inning in the game.
Making his first NCAA start, Wofford right-hander Jacob Condra-Bogan (1-0) didn't allow a run until the sixth inning, when Mason senior Kent Blackstone doubled into the gap in left-center driving in sophomore Brady Acker from second base to make the score 8-1.
The Terriers added three more runs after the seventh inning stretch. After a double by Kody Ruedisili into the left field corner and a single by Brett Hash put runners on the corners, Carson Waln lifted a sacrifice fly to center with Ruedisili scoring to increase the lead to 9-1. With two outs, Bradley's double to center plated Hash to make it 10-1 and Alex Malsch added a RBI single for an 11-1 Wofford lead.
For the second straight game the Patriots would score five runs in the final two innings. In the top of the eighth, Brandon Gum walked to start the inning. With one out, Acker and Blackstone were each hit by a pitch to load the bases. With two outs, freshman Bailey Klein forced a full count and drew a walk to drive in Gum with the Patriots second run.
Freshman Jonathan Hansen and sophomore Frank Sturek each walked to start the ninth and with one out Smith was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Acker then picked up his third RBI of the season with a sacrifice fly to right to make the score 11-3. Blackstone would empty the bases with one swing of the bat, a towering three-run homer to left field to make it 11-6, but that's as close as Mason would get.
Wofford used nine pitchers in the game. Condra-Bogan allowed one run on five hits in 5.2 innings and had a career high eight strikeouts and walked just one Mason batter. No other Terrier out of the bullpen pitched more than one inning.
Four players had a multi-hit game for Wofford. Jennings, Malsch and Bradley combined to drive in seven of the Terriers 11 runs. Wofford left 14 runners on base.
Mason used six pitchers in the game. Nightengale pitched 2.1 innings allowing seven runs on three hits. He walked five and had two strikeouts in the loss. Senior Mark Maksimow allowed a run on five hits in 1.2 innings of work. Sophomore Saul Aguilera surrendered three runs on four hits in his outing. Three freshmen saw action on the hill. Tim Quinn, Matthew Yost and Zach Mort combined to pitch 3.1 scoreless innings. Mason allowed 24 runs in three games over the weekend.
Blackstone went 2-for-4 with his first home run of the season and drove in four of the Patriots six runs. Smith also went 2-for-4 and scored a run. Klein and Acker each had a RBI in the game. Mason stranded eight runners on base.
The Patriots travel to Williamsburg, Virginia on Wednesday, Feb. 24 to take on William & Mary in the home opener for the Tribe. The first pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m.
