FAIRFAX, Va. – George Mason starting pitcher Joe Williams turned in a dominant performance and the Patriots scored all of their runs in the seventh inning, defeating Dayton 8-2 Saturday afternoon at Spuhler Field.
Williams was solid throughtout and was able to work his way out of trouble a few times in the game, giving Mason (10-21, 2-6 A-10) a chance to even the series against the Flyers.
The Patriots had just one hit and three total base runners in the first four innings against Dayton starter Zach Beaver, who threw a first-pitch strike to 18 of the first 21 batters he faced through six innings before running into trouble in the seventh.
The Patriots sent 11 batters to the plate and scored eight runs on eight hits in the home half of the seventh inning to break a scoreless tie. With one out, sophomore Trevor Kelly started the rally with a double down the left field line and freshman Jonathan Hansen followed with a single to put runners on the corners.
Sophomore Frank Sturek, who earlier in the game made a spectacular diving catch in center field, singled to drive in Kelly from third to give Mason a 1-0 lead. Freshman Alejandro Aponte continued the hit parade and collected his first collegiate RBI when he singled to center, with Hansen racing home from second base to make it 2-0.
Sophomore Michael Smith then singled and the bases were loaded for freshman Caleb Walls, who drove in two runs with a single to center to double the lead to 4-0. Senior Kent Blackstone drove in two runs with a two-out base hit to pad the lead to 6-0 and sophomore Garett Driscoll added some muscle in the inning when he smashed a two-run homer over the left field fence to make it 8-0. Driscoll leads the Patriots with three round trippers on the season.
Dayton (9-21, 2-6 A-10) scored a single run in the eighth against Williams and another in the ninth against freshman Jonathan Ostroff.
Aponte went 2-for-3 with a RBI and scored a run. He singled, doubled and walked to reach base in three of his four trips to the plate. Walls finished 2-for-4 with two RBIs and a run scored. Blackstone and Driscoll each drove in two runs. Mason finished with 10 hits in the game and eight different players scored a run.
Williams (1-4) did the rest for Mason, allowing just one run on seven hits over 8.0 innings of work in his longest outing of the season. It matches the longest outing by a Mason starter this season. Williams also struck out a season-high seven batters.
The rubber game of the series is set for Sunday at 1 p.m. LHP Brian Marconi (0-2, 5.40) is scheduled to start for Mason. RHP Austin Cline (1-2, 4.59) is slated to take the hill for Dayton.
