BETHESDA, Md. – The George Mason baseball team took a 4-2 lead into the bottom of the seventh against Georgetown, but the Hoyas scored a season-high nine runs in the home half of the inning on the way to a 12-5 win over the Patriots at Shirley Povich Field on Tuesday afternoon.
Mason (10-23, 2-7 A-10) defeated the Hoyas 2-1 at Spuhler Field on Mar. 29 in the first meeting between the two teams with junior Tyler Kardas tossing five scoreless innings. He was called on again to start Tuesday.
The Hoyas dented the scoreboard first in the bottom of the second inning. Joseph Bialkowski led off with a single and scored when Chase Bushor doubled to left field to give Georgetown a 1-0 lead.
Georgetown (15-19, 1-2 BIG EAST) added a run in the fourth. Michael DeRenzi led off with a single, stole second base and went to third on a throwing error by the catcher. With one out, Bushor delivered with a RBI single to left field with DeRenzi scoring on the play to increase the advantage to 2-0.
The Patriots cut the lead in half in the top of the fifth against Hoyas starter Nick Leonard. Freshman Bailey Klein swung at the first pitch he saw and belted a solo home run over the left field fence to make it 2-1. The homer was the first of Klein's collegiate career. Mason has hit a home run in three straight games.
The Hoyas had runners on first and second with two outs in the bottom of the fifth, but Kardas was able to escape by getting a ground out to end the inning. In the sixth, Georgetown had runners on second and third with two away and reliever Ryan Ricci turned the Hoyas away with an inning-ending fly out.
Mason took the lead in the seventh inning. After a single by Greg Popatak II and a walk by freshman Ryan Tassone, Alejandro Aponte was hit by a pitch to load the bases with two outs. Popatak then raced home on a wild pitch to tie the score 2-2 and sophomore Michael Smith came through with a two-out, two-run single to put Mason in front 4-2. The Patriots could have scored more runs in the inning, but sophomore Garett Driscoll was robbed of a home run by left fielder Charlie Dillon, who went leaping high into the air at the wall to make the catch.
Georgetown regained the lead for good in the bottom of the seventh, sending 15 batters to the plate and scoring nine times on eight hits to build an 11-4 advantage. The first 10 batters in the inning reached base and nine different players scored a run in the inning. The Hoyas had lost three in a row at home and six of their last seven games overall.
The teams traded runs in the eighth inning. Senior Kent Blackstone doubled and scored when Popotak doubled to make it 11-5. The Hoyas tacked on a run on a RBI single in the bottom of the inning for the 12-5 final.
Blackstone went 2-for-4 with his ninth double of the season and scored a run. Popatak was 2-for-4 with a RBI and a run scored. Smith finished 1-for-3 with two RBIs. Klein's home run was the 15th that the Patriots have hit this season.
Kardas allowed two runs, one earned, in 5.0 innings in his fourth start of the season. Ricci (1-3) gave up four runs, three earned, in one inning and suffered the loss. Jimmy Swad (3-2) earned the win for the Hoyas.
The Patriots get back into Atlantic 10 Conference play this weekend, facing George Washington in a three-game series beginning Friday in Arlington, Va. The first pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m.
