FAIRFAX, Va. – The George Mason Baseball team ended its four-game homestand on a winning note, with solid pitching leading the Patriots to a 2-1 win over Georgetown on Tuesday afternoon at Spuhler Field.

Mason (8-17) starter Tyler Kardas was sharp from the start with a three-up and three-down first inning.  He retired 10 of the first 11 batters that he faced in the game and kept the Hoyas guessing all day.  Kardas tossed two innings last Wednesday and earned the victory in the Patriots 16-5 win at James Madison.

The Patriots dented the scoreboard in the home half of the second inning when Georgetown starter Jack Cushing struggled with his control.  Sophomore Garett Driscoll led off the inning with a four pitch walk and freshman Greg Popatak II was also issued a free pass to put runners on first and second with no outs.  Driscoll was forced to leave the game when he was injured sliding back into second base on a pickoff attempt, with freshman Caleb Walls entering the game as a pinch runner.

After a strikeout, freshman Jonathan Hansen walked to load the bases and sophomore Timothy Turner knocked in the first run of the game with a sacrifice fly to right field, with Walls crossing the plate to make it 1-0.  Turner has driven in six runs in his last eight games played.

Kardas continued to roll along into the fifth inning with the Hoyas hitting the ball out of the infield only six times against him in the game.  Georgetown (11-14) entered the day averaging over nine hits and nearly five runs per game.

In the bottom of the fifth inning sophomore Michael Smith led off with a single and he wasn't on base long.  With one out, senior Kent Blackstone belted his third triple of the season into the gap in left-center field with Smith scoring all the way from first to increase the Patriots lead to 2-0.

The Hoyas put runners on first and second in the top of the seventh and scored their lone run of the game on a RBI single by senior Charlie Dillon.  Sophomore Ryan Ricci entered the game with the tying and go-ahead runs on base and ended the threat by getting a grounder back to the mound. 

In the eighth Georgetown put Mason in a jam again with runners on second and third with only one out.  Beau Hall was hit by a pitch and Michael DeRenzi doubled against senior Mark Maksimow.  Freshman Zach Mort was summoned from the bullpen and recorded a pop out and a ground out to turn the Hoyas away.

Mason improved to 5-4 this season in one-run games with all five of the victories at Spuhler Field.  The Hoyas have lost four straight and six of their last seven, scoring just 18 runs along the way.  The two teams will meet again April 12 at Georgetown.

Kardas (2-0) allowed just two singles and didn't walk a batter in 5.0 innings to earn the win in his second start of the season.  He entered the game with a total of five innings pitched in seven appearances.  Mort sat down all five batters he faced to pick up his second save of the season.  In his last three appearances, Mort has allowed one hit over 5.2 innings.

Blackstone went 2-for-4 to account for half of the Patriots hits in the game.  Quinn and Smith each went 1-for-4. 

The Patriots are back on the diamond this weekend, traveling to St. Louis for a three-game set against the Billikens beginning Friday.