WHO: Softball vs. Mount St. Mary's 
WHERE: George Mason Softball Complex, Fairfax, Va.
FINAL SCORE: Mount St. Mary's 8, Mason 3
KEY PLAYERS: Liz Seymour – 2-3, 1 RBI, 1 run; Casey Price – 2-4, 1 RBI, 1 run

WHO: Softball vs. Mount St. Mary's 
WHERE: George Mason Softball Complex, Fairfax, Va.
FINAL SCORE: Mason 8, Mount St. Mary's 0
KEY PLAYERS: Liz Seymour – 4-4, 3 RBI, 3 runs, Hayley Hinton – 2-3, 2 RBI; Victoria Webster – 2-3, 1 RBI, 1 run

Fairfax, Va. – George Mason University's softball team was able to split their doubleheader against Mount St. Mary's, winning 8-0 (5) in game two after falling in game one, 8-3.

The Patriots had a solid to the game one and scored two runs off of three hits in the bottom of the first. Sophomore shortstop Liz Seymour tripled down the right-field line for an RBI single to score senior outfielder Casey Price. Soon after, Seymour crossed home plate herself after redshirt freshman third baseman Jess Middleton drove her home with a single.

Mount St. Mary's would rally in the top of the third and score seven runs. It all started when an error by Mason helped the Mount get two players in scoring position, both of whom were sent home with a three-run home run by Rachel Heinze. The Mountaineers remained aggressive at bat with two outs and scored four additional runs. Ruf hit an RBI double to force the Patriots to go to their bullpen and bring on senior Sarah Kleinfelter in relief. Mount St. Mary's made it 7-2 before Mayes was thrown out at third base by Seymour to end the inning.

The Patriots attempted a comeback after a promising start to the bottom of the fifth inning, when a lead-off double by junior second baseman McKenzie Jones and an RBI single by Price cut the lead to 7-3. Ruf then retired three consecutive Mason batters to end the momentum and the inning. Then, sisters Lindsay and Rachel Heinze orchestrated Mount St. Mary's final run of the game in the top of the sixth inning – a single up the middle by Lindsay allowed her older sister Rachel to cross home plate to produce the Mount's eighth run of the contest.       

Mason came back strong in the second game of the doubleheader and earned 16 hits in the contest. After threatening in the first two innings, the Patriots were able to break through in the third, scoring two runs. Seymour led off the inning with a double and came around to score on a single by freshman designated player Victoria Webster. Webster would then score immediately as the next batter Hayley Hinton doubled down the left-field line.

The Patriots would add another three runs in the fourth and fifth to prematurely end the contest after five innings. Seymour and Webster were again in the midst of the fourth inning rally and pinch hitter freshman Samantha Zaccari got in the act with an RBI single.

In the fifth, Middleton's RBI single up the middle scored Seymour, after the sophomore hit yet another double, which yielded two Mason runs.

STAT BREAKDOWN

-Over the course of the doubleheader, both teams had a game in which they would accumulate double-digit hits – Mount St. Mary's in the first and Mason in the second – at the end of the day the Patriots batted significantly better as a team - .393, after going 22-56 from the plate. Despite the 12 hits in the first contest, the Mountaineers were limited to only four in the second for team batting of .308 after going 16-52.

-Mason committed four errors in the first game to aid Mount St. Mary's win, but rebounded with a flawless defensive performance in the second game to shut the Mountaineers out. Mount St. Mary's committed three errors over the course of the two games.

-The Patriots' pitching staff stranded 12 Mountaineers on base on the day, while Mount St. Mary's pitchers kept 14 Mason from crossing home, 10 of whom in the second game, which prevented an even more dominant score line in favor of the Patriots.  

NEXT ON THE DIAMOND

The Patriots will travel to Pennsylvania for a second weekend in a row to face another Atlantic 10 Conference opponent, La Salle, for a three-game series on Friday and Saturday.