DELAND, Fla.
– George Mason University's softball team was more efficient at bat than it was the day before, but that was not enough to take a game from a strong Stetson team in Wednesday's doubleheader.
Mason fought to the very end in game one, tied the score twice and scored a run in the seventh inning in attempt to spark a late run, but the Hatters ultimately won 6-4.
In the second game, the home team got off to a lightning-quick start by scoring three runs in the opening inning. Despite Mason outhitting Stetson 9-8 in the contest, the Patriots could not penetrate the Hatters' defense. Stetson added a run in the fourth inning to shape the final scoreline, 4-0.
Senior left fielder Kat Marsh led Mason with two RBI on the day. She homered to the part of the park she usually defends in the fourth inning to score junior catcher
Brooke Sullivan and herself and temporarily tie the score at 3-3. Sophomore catcher
Hayley Hinton and freshman center fielder also picked up an RBI each as Mason challenged the Hatters in the opening game of the doubleheader.
DAY NOTES
-Mason scored their four runs on five hits in the first game and batted .311 over the course of the two-game event in DeLand. Stetson had 12 kills for the first win and averaged .364 at the plate over the course of the day.
-Two freshmen shared the pitching duties in the first game –
Bekah Ansbro (1-5) earned her fourth start in the circle this season and pitched the first 3.0 innings before
Taylor Mayer came in for the latter 3.0 innings.
-Head coach
Joe Verbanic and pitching assistant
Caitlyn de la Haba relied on experience and youth in the second game. Freshman
Madison Larsen (1-5) was selected over regular starter, sophomore
Marina Vitalich, and made her third start in the last three days. Larsen struck out three batters in four innings and Vitalich did the same for the final two innings, combining for one more than Stetson's Tori Perkins.
-Brooke Hutto and Perkins, each of whom pitched a complete game on Wednesday, picked up their 10
th and seventh win of the season, respectively.
-Luttrell and fellow freshman
Jess Curbeira were the most productive batters for the Patriots with identical three-for-six (.500) averages on the day. Sophomore first baseman
Samantha Zaccari also picked up a hit in both games, finishing the doubleheader three-for-eight with two hits in the second game.
-Freshman Linda Ross (3-6, .500) had another good day at bat for the Hatters and caused the most damage to Mason's defense in the second game with three RBI. Molly McLaughlin, another freshman, also had multiple RBI on the day with two in the first game, but she did not demonstrate the consistency at bat that Ross did and went zero-for-three in the second game for a .333 average on the day.
-Mason became the sixth team already to have lost to Stetson more than once this season. The others are Akron, Savannah State, Providence, LIU Brooklyn, and Bethune-Cookman. After the doubleheader against the Patriots, Stetson improved to 17-5 at home.
-After going without a home run for the first month of the season, Marsh's homer was Mason's second in as many days. That last occurred two seasons ago, during Mason's memorable run in the 2015 Atlantic 10 Championship.
NEXT ON THE DIAMOND
Mason will complete the busy spring break week with a participation in the Jacksonville Invitational. The Patriots will play four games in River City – three against Columbia and one against the host Jacksonville University. Mason has faced both opponents already this season and will hope to fare better against the Lions and the Dolphins on Saturday and Sunday.
