BASEBALL at N.C. State

WHEN:  Wednesday, 3 p.m.
WHERE: Doak Field at Dail Park | Raleigh, N.C.
RECORDS: Mason (6-10), N.C. State (9-8)
LIVE STATS  Raleigh, N.C. – The George Mason baseball team faces N.C. State in a midweek contest on Wednesday at Doak Field, with the first pitch scheduled for 3 p.m.

Mason (6-10) dropped the final game of its series against Cornell, with the Big Red jumping out to an 8-0 lead on the way to a 9-3 victory on Sunday afternoon at Spuhler Field.

The Patriots fell behind in the first inning for the third straight game in the series and have allowed at least one run in the first inning in each of the last six games.

Sophomore Zach Mort (1-2) allowed seven runs, six earned, on nine hits over 4.0 innings and suffered the loss.  Junior Ryan Ricci, sophomore Jonathan Ostroff and freshman Jared DiCesare each tossed one scoreless inning for the Patriots in the game.

Junior Tyler Nelin went 2-for-4 and scored two runs against the Big Red.  He extended his hitting streak to 10 games.  Junior Trevor Kelly was 2-for-5 with a home run and drove in two of Mason's three runs. 

Freshman Logan Driscoll finished 1-for-3 against Cornell to extend his hitting streak to five games.  He was named Atlantic 10 Conference Rookie of the Week on Monday.

Driscoll, a Burke, Va. native, batted .316 (6-for-19) with nine RBI, four runs scored, a .474 slugging percentage and a .435 on-base percentage last week.  He recorded at least one hit in all five of Mason's games during the week, starting once in right field, once as the designated hitter and three times behind the plate.

Driscoll belted his first career grand slam and drove in five runs on March 11 in the Patriots' 11-4 win over Cornell.  It's the second time this season that he has driven in five runs in a game.  Driscoll also collected five RBI in Mason's 21-1 win over VMI on Feb. 19 in Wilmington, N.C.

It's the second time this season that Driscoll has been named A-10 Rookie of the Week.  He also earned the honor after the first week of the season, when he began his collegiate career 7-for-13 (.538) with five RBI and five runs scored.

After concluding an eight-game homestand, Mason is playing on the road for the first time since March 1, when the Patriots scored three runs in the top of the ninth at Longwood to earn a 6-5 win over the Lancers.

N.C. STATE SCOUTING REPORT:

N.C. State was 38-22 overall last season and finished with a record of 15-13 against ACC opponents.  The Wolfpack went 26-9 at home, 9-10 on the road and had a 3-3 record in neutral site games during the 2016 campaign.

The Wolfpack won three games in the Raleigh Regional last season, with two victories over Navy and an 8-1 win against the eventual National Champion Coastal Carolina.  The Chanticleers would advance, scoring four runs in the top of the ninth for a 7-5 win over N.C. State in the Raleigh Regional championship game at Doak Field.

N.C. State (9-8) scored six runs over the final four innings to defeat Elon 6-2 on Tuesday at Latham Park in Elon, N.C.  The Wolfpack committed four errors in the game. 

Junior Andy Cosgrove went 2-for-4 including his first home run of the season, while sophomore Brett Kinneman was 2-for-3 with a double and a run scored.  Junior Joe Dunand hit his team-leading fourth home run of the season for N.C. State in the win.

Junior Josh McLain leads the Wolfpack with 22 hits and a .361 average (22-for-61) in 17 games played.  Freshman Brad Debo is second on team with a .340 average (17-for-50) and second with 11 RBI, while classmate Will Wilson paces N.C. State with 16 RBI. 

PROBABLE STARTERS:

Mason:  RHP Bryce Nightengale (0-1, 6.94) is slated to make his second start this season.
N.C. State:  RHP Cory Wilder (0-1, 4.50) is scheduled to make his third start of the year.

STRIKE ZONE: 

After playing in the Southern Conference for 31 years, N.C. State became a member of the ACC when the conference was formed in 1954.  The Wolfpack have won four conference regular season championships, have appeared in two College World Series and have been in the NCAA Tournament 27 times.