FAIRFAX, Va. – The George Mason baseball team built a four-run lead, but dropped the middle game of the series to La Salle 5-4 at Spuhler Field on Saturday afternoon.
Mason (17-32, 6-14 A-10) took the lead in the bottom of the second against Explorers starter Luke Reilly. Sophomore Trevor Kelly and senior Kent Blackstone began the inning with back-to-back singles and freshman Jonathan Hansen advanced the runners to second and third with a perfect sacrifice bunt. Freshman Alejandro Aponte then grounded to the shortstop and when the throw to first sailed high, both Kelly and Blackstone crossed the plate to give the Patriots a 2-0 advantage.
La Salle (15-35, 6-14 A-10) threatened in the third with runners on second and third with two outs, but Mason starter Joe Williams recorded an inning-ending strikeout.
The Patriots doubled the lead in the home half of the third. Freshman Ryan Tassone singled, moved to second base on a wild pitch and went to third after sophomore Tyler Nelin hit an infield single to put runners on the corners with no outs. Sophomore Garett Driscoll drove in a run with a ground out and Blackstone knocked in a run with a single to center to make the score 4-0.
In the top of the sixth, the Explorers began their comeback with a leadoff single and a walk, setting the table for freshman Ben Faso, who drove in two runs with a single to center to cut the Patriots lead in half at 4-2.
La Salle sent eight batters to the plate in the seventh inning and scored three runs on two hits to take a 5-4 lead. Mason loaded the bases with two outs in the bottom of the eighth, but stranded all three runners. Both teams left 10 runners on base in the game.
Williams allowed two runs on four hits and struck out a season-high nine batters in 5.2 innings. Sophomore Saul Aguilera (0-1) allowed three runs on one hit in 0.2 innings in the loss. Senior Mark Maksimow allowed two hits in 2.2 innings of work.
Reilly (2-4) surrendered four runs on 11 hits in 6.0 innings to earn the win. Freshman C.J. Pruitt tossed a scoreless ninth to pick up his first career save.
Blackstone went 3-for-3 and drove in his 29th run of the season. Driscoll finished 2-for-5 with a RBI and scored a run. Sophomore Michael Smith went 2-for-4 with his sixth double of the season. Aponte was 1-for-4 with a RBI. He has driven in four runs in his last three games. The Patriots had at least one hit in every inning except the ninth and finished with 13 hits in the game, 12 singles and a double.
The Patriots play their final home game of the regular season Sunday afternoon at Spuhler Field with the first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m.
