FAIRFAX, Va. – George Mason University's softball team came out of a six-game slump on Sunday afternoon by beating Cornell 5-3 at home in a game that was a part of the annual Cherry Blossom Classic.

Mason enjoyed a quick start and jumped off to a 3-0 lead after the first three innings while sophomore starter Marina Vitalich held the Big Red to only one hit  early on, including three up three down in the opening two innings.

Cornell managed to get on the board in the fourth inning when senior Jessica Bigbie sacrificed herself to score Megan Murray, but then Mason responded with another two-run inning to grab the largest lead of the game. Sophomore infielder Erin Calpin led the Patriots off with a single before her classmate first baseman Sam Zaccari hit a two-run single, bringing Calpin and freshman lead-off hitter Mary-Elizabeth Luttrell home for 5-1.

The Big Red, winged by an extra-inning win in the morning game against Akron, made a push for a comeback and scored a run in each of the following innings but Mason's defense did not commit a single error and stranded three runners in the last couple of innings to wrap up the victory.

"We came out playing how we are capable of playing [and] showed a little bit of what the future looks like here," head coach Joe Verbanic said. "That's recipe we are looking for and when you do that you are going to beat teams. We just have to become more consistent in doing that."
The inconsistency showed in the following game, the tournament finale against Akron, which the Zips won 8-0. Mason could not get a hit on the board until the fifth inning, when junior catcher Brooke Sullivan doubled down the left line to pour cold water over Akron freshman Lexie Handley's ambitions for a perfect game.

By then the Patriots trailed by four and their only other hit came in the seventh inning with another Zaccari single.
Mason did not show its best defensive face either, giving up 12 stolen bases and committing seven errors in the defeat.

"Akron came out here, they played hard, they played well," Verbanic said. "But the plays we did not make were routine plays, plays that you make every day in practice.

"You can't make seven errors against anybody and expect to have a good chance to win. We took a ball game that looks like a blowout when it probably should have been a 1-0, 2-0 game had we played well defensively."

Freshmen Madison Larsen (0-4) and Taylor Mayer pitched for Mason against the Zips. The rookies combined for eight strikeouts, two more than Handley, but Akron's pitcher faced nine fewer batters in the contest.

DAY NOTES

-After pitching a complete game against the Big Red, Vitalich (2-4) has now been credited with both of Mason's wins this season. 

-Mason batted .220 (11-50) on the day while Cornell and Akron averaged .246 (15-61) against the Patriots.

-Calpin had hits on both of its at bats against the Big Red, but it was Zaccari and redshirt sophomore third baseman Jess Middleton – both 2-4 – who picked up all three RBI for Mason in that game.

- Zaccari was also the only Patriot to grab at least one hit in each game, finishing the day with team-high hits.

-All three teams finished Sunday's round-robin tournament with a 1-1 record.

-Eleven Patriots were left on base over the course of the two games while Mason's pitching staff stranded 15 runners themselves.

NEXT ON THE DIAMOND

Mason heads down to Florida for a fully booked spring break, during which the Patriots will play eight games in five days. First up is the first doubleheader of the season, at Bethune-Cookman on Tuesday.