FAIRFAX, Va. – The George Mason baseball team allowed six runs in the ninth inning in a 9-6 loss to Dayton at Spuhler Field on Sunday afternoon. The Flyers took two of three games in the series.
Mason (10-22, 2-7 A-10) grabbed an early lead in the bottom of the first inning against Dayton starter Austin Cline. Sophomore Tyler Nelin smashed a solo home run over the left-center field fence to put the Patriots up 1-0. It's the first homer that Mason has hit in the first inning this season.
Dayton (10-21, 3-6 A-10) used the long ball to tie the game in the top of the third against Mason starter Brian Marconi when Robbie Doring hit his eighth homer of the season, a solo blast to left field to even the score 1-1.
The Patriots answered in the home half of the third to regain the lead. With one out, Nelin walked to set the table for senior Kent Blackstone, who jumped on the first pitch he saw and ripped a triple into the right field corner with Nelin scoring all the way from first base to give Mason a 2-1 edge. Sophomore Garett Driscoll made it 3-1 when he drove in Nelin from third with a sacrifice fly.
Driscoll drove in four runs in the series against the Flyers. Blackstone has seven RBIs in his last four games overall.
With one out in the fourth, Dayton loaded the bases with a walk and back-to-back singles. Cale Dineen then drove in a run when he reached on a fielder's choice to cut the Mason lead to 3-2. Freshman Alejandro Aponte was quick to react at second base to keep the ball in the infield on the play to prevent any more runs from crossing the plate.
The Flyers used two singles in the fifth to put runners on first and third with one out. Mason made the call to the bullpen with senior Mark Maksimow taking over for Marconi, who threw 85 pitches on the day. Maksimow retired the first batter he faced, but then allowed a RBI single to Cameron Silva through the right side and the game was tied 3-3.
Dayton sent 11 batters to the plate in the top of the ninth against freshman Zach Mort and sophomore Saul Aguilera. The Flyers scored six runs on five hits, with Silva driving in two with a single. The Flyers were also helped by a throwing error, three walks and a wild pitch in the inning to take a 9-3 lead.
Mason rallied in the bottom of the ninth when freshman Jonathan Hansen and Aponte both singled. Sophomore Michael Smith cleared the bases with a triple to right field to cut the lead to 9-5. Freshman Caleb Walls made the score 9-6 with a RBI single up the middle, with Smith coasting home. With two on and only one out, the Patriots would get the tying run to the plate but Dayton closer Ben Polansky retired the next two batters to end the game.
Dayton entered the series with a record of 3-12 on the road, but won the series against the Patriots, scoring nine runs in each of its two wins. It's the first Atlantic 10 series win of the year for the Flyers, who had just one conference series victory last season.
Cline allowed three runs on six hits in 6.1 innings for Dayton. He struck out a career-high 14 batters in his outing. Sam Brunner (2-3) tossed 1.2 innings in relief to earn the win. Polansky picked up his second save of the year.
The Patriots struck out a season-high 18 times in the game. Every Mason hitter went down on strikes at least once.
Marconi allowed three runs on seven hits in 4.1 innings in the no decision. Maksimow gave up two hits in 2.2 innings. Mort (3-2) surrendered five runs, three earned, on two hits in 1.1 innings and suffered his second straight loss. Aguilera allowed a run on three hits in the ninth.
Aponte went 3-for-4 and scored a run. He had five hits in the last two games of the series against Dayton. Nelin was 2-for-3 with a homer and scored two runs. He's tied for the team lead with three home runs this season. Blackstone went 1-for-5 with his team-leading fifth triple of the season. He also leads Mason with 23 RBIs. Smith finished 1-for-4 with a triple and two RBIs.
Mason travels to Georgetown to take on the Hoyas Tuesday afternoon with the first pitch scheduled for 3 p.m.
