FAIRFAX, Va. – George Mason University's softball team left the offensive highlights for late in the game but nevertheless managed to pick up a 2-1 victory in the home opener against the University at Buffalo on Friday.

The success is first for Mason (1-5) this season and was a great start to the Patriots' 11-game homestand which will include hosting the annual Patriot Classic and the Cherry Blossom Classic in Fairfax. UB, which has scheduled all of its entire pre-Mid-American Conference games on the road due to the cold temperatures up north, fell to 0-6 on the season.

GAME NOTES

-Sophomore pitcher Marina Vitalich (1-2) pitched a consecutive complete game and took credit for Friday's victory. Vitalich seemed happy to be back at home and struck out 12 UB batters, three more than in her first three games combined. With the Bulls' only run in the game being unearned, Vitalich's ERA is now 0.87. She and the rest on Mason's defense held UB to 0.080 hitting.
-UB's pitcher Ally Power (0-3) also spent the entire game in the circle. Just like Vitalich, Power had a fantastic start to the game and finished with nine strikeouts, six of them in the opening four innings.
-After a slow offensive start with four hitless innings, in which sophomore first baseman Samantha Zaccari's walk was the only base run for Mason, the Patriots hit a combined .500 in the last two innings to secure the comeback win. Overall, Mason hit .217, which is above the team's 2017 average.
-The Patriots spread the offensive contribution with five players picking up a hit apiece. Sophomore Jess Curbeira (1-3), Mason's designated hitter for the game, tallied the only RBI in the game to tie the game.

HOW IT HAPPENED

-After three innings that will be remembered with strong pitching and nothing more, outfielder Leandra Jew became UB's first base runner when she reached on one of Mason's only two errors in the game. Mason's defense continued having an off inning and had another error and two wild pitches. The second wild pitch came with UB runners on second and third and with two outs for the Bulls, allowing Jew to score the opening run of the contest – 1-0 UB. Power then had another three-up-three-down inning.

-The teams picked up their first hits in the fifth inning through infielder Jenelle Martinez and redshirt sophomore second baseman Jess Middleton, respectively. Middleton also became the first Mason runner in scoring position as she reached second, but UB's defense stranded her there.

-Jew led the Bulls off with a single to center field in the sixth inning, but the following three batters could not cause further damage. Mason, on the contrary, brought its entire arsenal to the bottom of the inning, on both sides of the lineup. Back-to-back-to-back singles from freshman trio Madison Aker (1-2), Mary-Elizabeth Luttrell (1-3) and Alyssa Lawton (1-3), respectively, loaded the bases for Mason and Curbeira then followed up with the fourth consecutive single in the inning to drive Aker home and tie the game – 1-1. Two batters later, with one out for Mason, the Bulls' sole error in the game proved costly because it allowed Luttrell to score as well and put the Patriots in the lead – 2-1.

-A sacrifice bunt by Essence Savinon, one of the three seniors on UB's roster, put Gabby Keller in scoring position in the seventh inning, but another strikeout by Vitalich and a solid defensive play by Aker at shortstop wrapped up the win for Mason.

NEXT ON THE DIAMOND

The Patriots are off in midweek, but will see plenty of action over the weekend, when they host Army, Columbia, and Fairfield in the Patriot Classic (March 3-5)