BASEBALL (15-29, 4-11 A-10) vs. UMBC (20-20, 8-9 America East)
WHEN: 3 p.m. Wednesday, May 3
WHERE: Spuhler Field
LAST MEETING: Mason fell to UMBC 6-4 Apr. 28, 2015 at Spuhler Field.
LIVE STATS: GoMason.com
RADIO: GoMason Digital Network
FAIRFAX, Va. – The George Mason baseball team wraps up a five-game homestand at Spuhler Field on Tuesday, hosting UMBC in a non-conference midweek matchup with the first pitch scheduled for 3 p.m.
Mason (15-29, 4-11 A-10) went 2-2 last week including winning two of three in an Atlantic 10 series against Richmond. Junior Tyler Zombro allowed two runs on five hits over 8.0 innings in a 3-2 win Friday. Freshman Brian Marconi scattered four singles and tossed 7.0 scoreless innings in a 1-0 win on Saturday in the second game of a doubleheader to earn his first victory. Freshman Zach Mort picked up a save in both wins in the series.
Freshman Greg Popatak II is batting .276 with two home runs and 13 RBIs in 40 games played. Sophomore Garett Driscoll is hitting .267 with four homers and 17 RBIs. Freshman Jonathan Hansen is third on the team with a .255 average and has driven in 17 runs in 36 games. Senior Kent Blackstone leads Mason in extra-base hits (17) and RBIs (28).
Mason pitchers have had the chance to take the hill with the lead, with the Patriots scoring the first run in seven of the last 10 contests.
Mason has won five of its last eight games overall with three of the wins by a single run (1-0 and 3-2 over Richmond and 6-5 against James Madison). This season, the Patriots are 8-6 in one-run games overall and 8-2 at Spuhler Field in games decided by a single run.
UMBC won the lone meeting between the two teams last season, scoring five runs over the first two innings on the way to a 6-4 win Apr. 28, 2015 at Spuhler Field. Tyler Nelin went 2-for-4 and Trevor Kelly was 1-for-3 and drove in a run. Mason used seven pitchers in the game.
SCOUTING REPORT
UMBC (20-20, 8-9 America East) dropped the first two games in a series at Stony Brook over the weekend before salvaging the finale 6-3 in 11 innings. Freshman A.J. Wright went 3-for-4 with two RBIs and finished a double shy of hitting for the cycle in the win.
This season, the Retrievers are 11-4 at home, 8-14 on the road and 1-2 in games played at a neutral site. UMBC has lost seven of its last 11 road games and allowed at least five runs in five of the seven losses.
UMBC is hitting .286 as a team with five players batting over .300. Senior Kevin Lachance is hitting .401 with six home runs and 26 RBIs in 40 games played. He leads the team in hits (63) and extra-base hits (18). Senior Anthony Gatto is batting .352 with two round trippers and 18 RBIs. Junior Hunter Dolshun leads the Retrievers in home runs (7) and sophomore Jamie Switalski paces UMBC with 32 RBIs.
The Patriots have won seven of the last nine meetings against the Retrievers, scoring at least nine runs in five of the seven victories.
PROBABLE STARTERS
Junior LHP Tyler Kardas (2-1, 7.48) is slated to make his seventh start of the season for Mason. He has started in each of the last six midweek games.
Sophomore RHP Matt Chanin (0-5, 10.16) is scheduled to make his ninth start of the season for UMBC. He's allowed 46 runs (38 earned) on 58 hits over 33.2 innings of work in 11 appearances.
