BASEBALL at Hughes Brothers Challenge

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WILMINGTON, N.C. – It's Opening Day for the George Mason baseball team, with the Patriots beginning the 2017 season on Friday in the Hughes Brothers Challenge, hosted by UNC Wilmington.  The first pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m. at Brooks Field in Wilmington, N.C.

Mason will face the Seahawks in the first game, Appalachian State at 10 a.m. on Saturday in the second game and VMI at 10 a.m. on Sunday to wrap up the round robin tournament.  The Patriots will play their first eight games of the season on the road.

Last season, Mason finished with an overall record of 19-35.  The Patriots were 14-16 at home, 5-18 on the road and 7-17 against the Atlantic 10.

The Patriots hammered out 10 hits against USC-Upstate on Opening Day last season, but the Spartans rallied twice for a 5-4 win at Harley Park in Spartanburg, S.C.  Brady Acker and Michael Smith each went 2-for-4 in the game as the top three batters in the order for Mason combined to go 5-for-13 with three RBI and two runs scored. 

Mason begins the 2017 season with seven seniors, nine juniors, 13 sophomores and five freshman ready to take the field.

Junior Brady Acker led the team with a .352 average in 14 games played last season.  Junior Garett Driscoll hit .289 with four home runs and 24 RBI in 42 games, including 37 starts.  Sophomore Greg Popatak II batted .264 with two home runs and 15 RBI in 45 games, including 42 starts, while junior Tyler Nelin started 53 games in 2016, batting .254 with four home runs and 20 RBI.

On the mound, Mason senior Tyler Zombro will make his third straight Opening Day start.  Last season, he made 14 starts with a 4-8 record and 3.75 ERA.  Zombro struck out 65 and walked only 11 over 86.1 innings of work.  Sophomore Zach Mort made 26 relief appearances his freshman year, going 3-2 with a 2.55 ERA and recorded all eight saves for the Patriots.

Mason head coach Bill Brown begins his 36th season at the helm for the Patriots.

SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION:

- UNCW went 41-19 overall last season, marking the team's seventh 40-win season and second in the last two years.  The Seahawks made their eighth appearance in the NCAA Tournament, defeating Duke and Rhode Island before falling to South Carolina in the Regional round.

The Seahawks finished with a 29-3 record at home and went 16-6 in the Colonial Athletic Association.

The matchup will be the 100th game in the all-time series between the Patriots and the Seahawks, with UNCW holding a 55-44 edge in the series.

- Appalachian State finished with an 18-36 overall record in 2016.  The Mountaineers were 4-17 on the road and went 9-21 in Sun Belt Conference play.

Head coach Kermit Smith begins his first season at Appalachian State.  He spent the previous seven years at Lander, finishing his tenure with the Bearcats as the winningest coach in school history with an overall record of 244-134 (.645).

- VMI finished last season with an overall record of 21-35.  The Keydets were 3-18 on the road and finished ninth in the Southern Conference with a record of 4-20.

Last season, sophomore Matt Pita started 56 games and led the Keydets with a .322 average and .592 slugging percentage, while classmate David Geary batted .320 with six home runs and 45 RBI in 54 games.  Junior Colin Fleischer hit .298 and drove in 46 runs in 56 games played.

MASON PROBABLE STARTERS:

Friday vs. UNCW:  RHP Tyler Zombro
Saturday vs. Appalachian State:  LHP Brian Marconi
Sunday vs. VMI:  RHP Zach Mort