JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – George Mason University's softball team completed its participation in the River City Leadoff with back-to-back defeats in the final day of play. On Sunday morning Mason was dominated by the College of Charleston, 8-0, before losing another heartbreaker to Appalachian State, 2-1.

This way the Patriots were the only team to complete the opening-weekend tournament winless. CofC is going home with a perfect 4-0 record, host Jacksonville won four out of its five games, while the triumph over Mason was the only win for App during a 1-3 weekend.

DAY NOTES

-Mason (.130) had an poor offensive day and combined for only six hits in Sunday's games. Meanwhile, the opponents combined for 20 hits and .364 batting. The greater damage was certainly caused by the Cougars, who hit 14-30 against Mason for eight RBI.

-Individually, sophomore first baseman Jess Curbeira led the Patriots with 1.000 hitting from the 2-2 she recorded against the Cougars in the morning. The other hits came from freshman catcher Sydnee Wells (1-5 on the day, 1 RBI), sophomore utility Victoria Webster (1-2), senior outfielder Katherine Marsh (1-3), and redshirt sophomore second baseman Jess Middleton (1-5). Unlike Wells on Saturday, no Mason player had a hit in both games of the day on Sunday.

-Sophomore Marina Vitalich (0-2) became the first member of Mason's pitching staff to throw a complete game against the Mountaineers by spending all 6.2 innings in the circle. She struck out three of 25 batters and gave up only one earned run in the loss. The pitching work against CofC was split freshmen Madison Larsen (3 IP, 6 earned runs, loss, 0-2 record) and Taylor Mayer (2.1 IP, 2 earned runs).

-The Patriots had 13 runners left on base over the course of the day as opposed to 17 for the opposition. Vitalich and junior catcher Brooke Sullivan were stranded three times each for Mason while the pitcher did the same to the Mountaineers' pinch hitter Taylor Rivenburgh three times.

HOW IT HAPPENED vs. College of Charleston

-Thanks to three walks and a stolen base, Mason loaded the bases in the very first inning despite not getting a hit, but could not capitalize. CofC, on the other hand, seized its opportunity to open the scoring early on and did so on Taylor Belfiore's RBI single, which scored Dana Horgan, 1-0.
-After Mason's first hit in the game did not lead to a real threat to the Cougars' defense in the second, CofC scored three earned runs on four hits in the bottom of the inning to stretch the lead to 4-0. Horgan hit the only RBI double of the game to score Taylor DuPree (2-3) and Izzy McCluskey (2-3, 1 RBI) before the Cougars' most efficient hitter, Jordin Jones (3-4), hit her first of two RBI singles of the game to bring Horgan home.
-The College of Charleston scored in every inning until the fifth, when Mayer had a 1-2-3 inning to extend the game for at least one more inning, but the momentum was not felt on the offensive end, where the Patriots continued to struggle.
-The sixth inning was the only one in which Mason had multiple hits (2), which gave the Patriots an opportunity for a legitimate offensive push. Midddleton and Curbeira both hit singles to start the inning and ended up at third and second, respectively, on a passed ball. However, both of the following two batters fouled out and prevented Mason from getting on the scoreboard. In the bottom of the inning, Katie Padilla's (1-3) only hit of the game was enough for an RBI single that made the score 8-0 and cut the contest short.

HOW IT HAPPENED vs. Appalachian State

-The beginning of the game was characterized by strong defense with Vitalich and her counterpart Kenzie Longanecker picking up two strikeouts apiece through the opening two innings.
-Mason drew first blood in the third inning. An error by App State and a stolen base got freshman infielder Madison Aker in scoring position, which prompted a pitching change by the Mountaineers' coaching staff. While Vanessa Ciocatto was still getting into the game, Wells singled to left field for her fourth RBI of the weekend, which scored Aker, 1-0. App State's response was lightning-fast. The Mountaineers inserted Gabby Buruato as pinch runner for Jenny Dodd at second and that turned out to be a perfectly timed move one out later. Leadoff hitter Natalie Orcutt doubled to left field to score Buruato and tie the game, 1-1.
-While Mason's offensive productivity gradually decreased in the following three innings, App State kept knocking on the door with hits in each of them, but Vitalich and the rest of Mason's defense held their ground and thus the game went into the decisive seventh tied.
-With two outs for Mason in the top of the seventh, Aker stepped up at bat with sophomore first baseman at third base, but could not produce and grounded out for the third out. The game was ultimately decided from a similar situation for App State when veteran Alisha Josey singled with two outs to allow Orcutt to cross home plate for the Mountaineers' first win of 2017.

NEXT ON THE DIAMOND

Mason will only practice for the next 12 days, preparing for the home opener against University of Buffalo on Feb. 24. First pitch will be at noon.