FAIRFAX, Va. – Sophomore Garett Driscoll hit his first home run, but the George Mason baseball team fell to Bryant University 12-2 on Friday afternoon at Spuhler field in the first of a three game series.
Driscoll's solo homer to left field in the seventh inning accounted for the Patriots first run of the game and sophomore Timothy Turner drove in a run in the ninth with a RBI single. Mason (1-7) managed just one hit against Bryant (7-1) starter James Karinchak.
Karinchak didn't allow a hit until he gave up a single to freshman Ryan Tassone in the sixth inning. After walking the leadoff batter of the game for the Patriots, Karinchak was nearly untouchable, retiring 13 Mason batters in a row.
The Bulldogs sent eight batters to the plate in the top of the second inning and jumped out to a 4-0 advantage. After A.J. Zarozny doubled to left to lead off the inning, Zach Wood smashed a two-run homer over the left-center field wall to give the Bulldogs a 2-0 lead. After a Mason error and a single put two runners on base, Bryant added two more runs when Robby Rinn doubled to center to make the score 4-0.
In the third inning, after a double and a single, Bryant added a run on a RBI bunt to increase the score to 5-0. The Bulldogs tacked on two more in the fourth to make the score 7-0 when Rinn hit a towering home run over the scoreboard in right-center field. Bryant finished the day with 15 hits.
After scoring a single run in the sixth inning for an 8-0 lead, the Bulldogs had another big inning in the seventh. Helped by three walks and a hit batter, Bryant sent 10 batters to the plate and scored four more times to make it 12-0. It was the fifth time this season in eight games that a team has batted around in an inning against the Patriots.
Sophomore Michael Smith went 1-for-2 with a double and walked three times. Turner went 1-for-1 and drove in Smith with a RBI single in the ninth. Mason batters struck out 17 times in the game.
Junior Tyler Zombro (0-3) allowed seven runs, five earned, over 4 2/3 innings in the loss. He struck out five and walked two. Freshman Matthew Yost gave up three runs on three hits in 1 2/3 innings. Junior Ryan Galvin allowed two runs on two hits in 1 2/3 innings of work. Freshman Jonathan Ostroff retired the Bulldogs in order in the ninth, the only inning that Bryant didn't have at least one base runner.
Leadoff hitter Cole Fabio went 4-for-6 and scored twice for the Bulldogs. Rinn went 3-for-6 with four RBI and two runs scored. Every player in the Bulldogs starting lineup reached base and scored at least one run in the game.
Karinchak (3-0) allowed just one hit and struck out 13 batters over six innings of work. He fanned at least two Mason hitters in five of his six innings and struck out the side twice.
The Patriots will try to even the series when the two teams play on Saturday March 5th at Spuhler Field. The first pitch is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.
