MASON (0-5, 0-0 A-10) vs Buffalo (0-5, 0-0 MAC)
WHEN:  12 p.m., Friday, Feb. 24 
WHERE: George Mason Softball Complex, Fairfax, Va.
ALL-TIME SERIES: UB leads series 1-0
LIVE STATS: SideArmStats.com FAIRFAX, Va. – George Mason University's softball team will hope to coincide Friday's home opener against the University at Buffalo with its first win of the season.

Mason returns to the diamond after a week off from competing. The team began the 2017 season at the River City Leadoff, where it came close to winning but came away with heart-breaking losses instead – 7-1 against the College of Charleston and 2-1 against Appalachian State. The single game against the Bulls begins an 11-game homestand for Mason that includes hosting the Patriot Classic (March 3-5) and the Cherry Blossom Classic (March 11-12) in back-to-back weekends.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS

The University at Buffalo also started its season with tournament play away from home. The Bulls traveled to Hammond, La. for five games at the Southeastern Louisiana Tournament. They registered five defeats, all of which except the last one against Southeast Missouri State were by four runs or more. In its tournament finale, UB took the Red Hawks to extra innings but fell 7-6.

Sophomore Alyssa Cuevas has driven in a team-high three runs for UB this season and averages .444. Senior Essence Savinon (2 RBI) leads the Bulls with a batting average of .500 but she has had four at-bat as opposed to Cuevas' nine at-bat.
Senior Bobbi Langlois is the only UB pitcher who has appeared in as many as three of the team's five games. The most experienced player on the Bulls' pitching staff, Langlois pitched 15 innings in Louisiana and struck out seven batters for team-best ERA of 5.13.