FAIRFAX, Va. – The George Mason baseball team split a doubleheader against Long Island on Friday afternoon at Spuhler Field. The Patriots rallied for a thrilling 9-8 win in game one while the Blackbirds won the second game 11-2.
Game 1:
The Patriots (5-13) wasted no time getting on the scoreboard against Long Island (3-11) starter Anthony Rupp. In the first inning senior Brandon Gum and sophomore Michael Smith both singled to start the game to put runners on the corners with no outs. Gum scored on a balk to give Mason a 1-0 lead, with Smith moving to second. A pass ball moved Smith to third and senior Kent Blackstone grounded out to first with Smith coasting home to make it 2-0.
Mason added another run in the bottom of the second inning. Sophomore Garett Driscoll led off with a walk and went to third on a double by classmate Timothy Turner. Driscoll then raced home on a wild pitch to increase the lead to 3-0. Driscoll has scored five runs in the last three games for the Patriots.
The Blackbirds cut the lead to 3-2 when sophomore Dom Paiotti delivered a two-run single against Patriots starter Tyler Zombro in the top of the third. Zombro scattered six hits and struck out eight through six innings.
Sophomore Tyler Nelin provided some muscle in the fourth inning for the Patriots when he connected on his first home run of the season to increase the lead to 4-2. Mason has hit 10 round trippers this season, five in the last four games.
In the bottom of the fifth, the Patriots scored three runs on three hits to build a 7-2 lead. Blackstone drove in two runs in the inning with his first triple of the season. Freshman Tim Quinn also drove in a run with a sacrifice fly. The Patriots have four triples this season, all in the last four games.
The Blackbirds stormed back in the seventh inning when they batted around and scored six runs on four hits to take the lead 8-7. Six straight Long Island batters reached base including three that were hit by a pitch in the inning by Zombro.
The Patriots evened the score 8-8 in the eighth when Driscoll doubled to lead off the inning, went to third on a throwing error and scored on a sacrifice fly by Turner.
Mason completed the comeback in the bottom of the ninth. Blackstone connected on a one-out double into right field and Quinn cashed in with a RBI single to give the Patriots the 9-8 walk-off win. All five of the Patriots wins this season have been at Spuhler Field and three have been by one run.
Blackstone went 2-for-5 with three RBI and two runs scored. He leads the team with 13 RBI. Smith was 2-for-5 and scored twice. Gum finished 2-for-4 and scored two runs from the leadoff spot.
Zombro allowed seven runs on eight hits over six innings and struck out eight without a walk in his fifth start of the season. Senior Mark Maksimow gave up a run on three hits in two innings of work. Freshman Zach Mort (2-0) retired the Blackbirds in order in the ninth to pick up the win. The three Mason pitchers combined to strike out 11 and walk only one in the game.
Game 2:
Long Island (4-11) used a solid pitching performance by sophomore Baylor LaPointe and two big innings to snap a six-game losing streak, beating Mason (5-14) by the final of 11-2.
Both teams traded runs in the first inning, with the freshman Greg Popatak II driving in the run for Mason with a RBI single. The Blackbirds took a 2-1 lead in the top of the second against Patriots starter Joe Williams when junior Harrison Preschel led off the inning with a towering solo home run to left field.
Long Island batted around in the fourth inning, scoring four runs on four infield hits and two errors to break the game open at 6-1. The Blackbirds batted around again in the seventh, sending 10 batters to the plate and scoring five more runs to increase their lead to 11-1.
Blackstone drove in a run with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the ninth for the Patriots second run of the nightcap.
After allowing a leadoff single in the third inning, LaPointe (2-2) retired the next 16 Mason batters that he faced. He gave up one run on three hits while striking out eight in the win. The Patriots had just five players reach base in the game. Williams (0-3) allowed six runs on eight hits in 6.0 innings of work. Quinn surrendered five runs on three hits in the seventh inning.
The rubber match of the series is Saturday, March 19 with the first pitch scheduled for 10 a.m. RHP Bryce Nightengale (0-3, 9.72) is the probable starter for Mason.
