ARLINGTON, Va. – George Mason starter Tyler Zombro allowed just three hits over eight innings, pitching a complete game, but the Patriots were shutout by George Washington 1-0 Friday afternoon in the first game of the series at Tucker Field at Barcroft Park.
Mason (10-24, 2-8 A-10) threatened in the top of the second against George Washington starter Bobby LeWarne. Freshman Greg Popatak II and Jonathan Hansen both singled to put runners on first and second with no outs, but in what would be a trend for the day, the Patriots failed to score when LeWarne retired the next three batters in the inning.
Zombro was sharp from the start, retiring the Colonials in order in each of the first four innings. It's the first time this season that a Mason starter has gone that far into a game without surrendering a hit. Zombro threw a first-pitch strike to 17 of the 26 batters he faced in the game.
The Patriots had numerous chances to dent the scoreboard. In the top of the fourth, Popatak and Hansen again collected back-to-back singles with one out, but they were stranded on base and the game remained scoreless.
In the fifth, sophomore Michael Smith led off with a walk, went to second on a sacrifice bunt by freshman Caleb Walls and advanced to third on a throwing error by the pitcher on a pickoff attempt at second. LeWarne was able to wiggle out of the jam by striking out the final two Mason batters in the inning.
George Washington (14-21, 4-3 A-10) broke the ice in the bottom of the fifth. Junior Bobby Campbell led off the inning with a double into the right field corner and with two outs, junior Cody Bryant drove in the only run of the day with a double into the gap in right-center field to give the Colonials a 1-0 lead.
In the seventh, freshman Alejandro Aponte started the inning by walking on four pitches against reliever Justin Friedman. After a sacrifice bunt by Smith moved Aponte to second, Walls singled to center to put runners on the corners with only one out. With two outs, senior Kent Blackstone was walked intentionally to load the bases and Friedman recorded an inning-ending groundout.
In the eighth, a leadoff walk to Popatak forced a pitching change by the Colonials. Hansen put down the perfect sacrifice bunt to move Popatak to second with one out, but reliever Eddie Muhl struck out the next two batters to deny Mason the game-tying run. The Patriots struck out 10 times in the game.
Smith led off the ninth with a walk and went to second on a throwing error. Nelin then flew out to deep center field, with Smith tagging and moving to third on the play with two outs. Blackstone ran the count full before lining out to left field to end the game.
Zombro (1-7) went the distance and deserved a better fate. He allowed just three baserunners, struck out six and didn't walk a batter in 8.0 innings. It's the second time this season that Zombro has tossed 8.0 innings in a game. He allowed three hits in 8.0 innings of work Mar. 12 in a 5-2 victory over Siena.
For George Washington, LeWarne (5-2) allowed five singles, struck out six and walked three in 6.0 innings to earn the win. Muhl didn't allow a hit over the last two innings and has picked up a save in nine of the Colonials 14 wins this season.
The Patriots are now 0-4 on the road this season against A-10 opponents and 1-10 away from home overall.
Popatak went 2-for-2 with two walks for his sixth multi-hit game of the season. Hansen was 2-for-3 for his fourth multi-hit game of the year. The Patriots had the leadoff hitter aboard five times in the game including each of the last three innings, when the leadoff batter was issued a free pass.
Mason had at least one baserunner in every inning and stranded a total of 12 runners on base in the game.
The middle game of the series is Saturday afternoon with the first pitch slated for 1 p.m. LHP Joe Williams (1-4, 4.99) is scheduled to take the hill for Mason.
