FAIRFAX, Va. – The George Mason baseball team jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first inning, but Dayton scored nine unanswered runs on the way to a 9-2 win over the Patriots in the first of a three-game series on Friday afternoon.
Mason (9-21, 1-6 A-10) took advantage of a Dayton mistake in the home half of the first to dent the scoreboard against Flyers starter Charlie Dant. With one out, sophomore Tyler Nelin reached on a throwing error and senior Kent Blackstone walked to put runners on first and second.
Sophomore Garett Driscoll, playing in his first game since last week, fell behind in the count before bouncing a single through the left side of the infield with Nelin rumbling home from second base to put the Patriots up 1-0. Greg Popatak II then hit an infield single, but the Patriots left the bases loaded in the inning.
Mason starter Tyler Zombro retired the Flyers in order in the first, but Dayton (9-20, 2-5 A-10) evened the score with one swing of the bat in the top of the second when junior Mark Giesler belted a solo home run over the left-center field fence to tie the game 1-1.
After a double and a single put runners on the corners with one out in the second, junior Mitch Coughlin beat out an infield single, with senior Cameron Silva scoring to give Dayton a 2-1 lead.
The Flyers sent eight batters to the plate in the third inning, scoring three runs on a double, two singles and a walk to increase the advantage to 5-1. Dayton scored two of the runs with two outs and was helped in the inning by one of three Mason errors in the game. Zombro would leave the game after three innings and give way to freshman Bryce Nightengale.
Mason had runners on the corners with two outs in the bottom of the fourth but came up empty. The Patriots left a total of 11 runners on base in the game and have stranded 32 in the last three games.
Dayton added a run in the fifth inning when Giesler reached on an error and scored on a RBI groundout by Silva to make it 6-1. It appeared Mason was in business in the bottom of the fifth when sophomore Michael Smith led off with a walk and went to third on a single by Nelin. Again the Patriots came up empty when Blackstone grounded into a double play and the inning ended with a fly out to center.
The Flyers tacked on another run in the eighth when Coughlin drew a leadoff walk, went to second on a sacrifice bunt and scored on a two-out double by freshman Connor Echols to pad the lead to 7-1. Dayton added to the advantage in the ninth when Nick Weybright doubled into the gap in left-center with two outs, driving in two more runs to make the score 9-1.
Sophomore Frank Sturek walked to lead off the bottom of the ninth and scored on a RBI single by Nelin for the final run of the day with Dayton claiming a 9-2 win. It was the first time the teams have met since Mason defeated Dayton 4-3 in 11 innings in the Atlantic 10 Tournament in 2014.
Dayton had at least one baserunner in every inning except the first and every player in the starting lineup reached base at least once. The Flyers have won two of their last three road games including an 8-3 victory at VCU last weekend.
Zombro (1-6) allowed five runs, four earned, on seven hits in 3.0 innings. He struck out two and walked one. Nightengale surrendered two runs, one earned, on four hits over 4.2 innings of work and allowed just one extra-base hit. Sophomore Saul Aguilera gave up two runs on three hits in 1.1 innings.
Driscoll went 2-for-4 and drove in his tenth run of the season. Nelin was 2-for-5 with a RBI and scored a run. Tim Quinn, Ryan Tassone and Popatak each finished 1-for-3. The Patriots had seven singles in the game.
The Flyers tied their season-high with 14 hits in the game with nine different players collecting at least one.
Dant (2-3) allowed just one run on four hits in 5.0 innings to earn the win. Three Dayton relievers combined to give up a run on three hits.
Former Mason player Justin Bour, who was drafted in the 25th round by the Chicago Cubs, stopped by Spuhler Field to take in the game. He's now the starting first baseman for the Miami Marlins and ranked among Major League rookie leaders last season with 23 home runs and 73 RBI's.
“It was something that I had planned out,” Bour said after catching up with Patriots head coach Bill Brown. “I'm very lucky to have come here and started my career here.”
The slugger still keeps up with Patriots baseball and spent part of an off-day to make the trip to campus.
“I have a lot to be thankful for and Mason has made me who I am today, I'm very proud of Mason,” Bour added as the sun set on the field he once roamed.
The middle game of the series between the Patriots and Flyers is Saturday, April 9 with the first pitch slated for 2 p.m.
