BASEBALL vs. Canisius

WHEN:  Saturday, March 18 | 1 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. (Doubleheader)
              Sunday, March 19 | 11 a.m.
WHERE: North Main Athletic Complex | Holly Springs, N.C.
RECORDS: Mason (6-11), Canisius (10-6)
LIVE STATS HOLLY SPRINGS, N.C. – The George Mason baseball team faces Canisius in a three-game series beginning Saturday at North Main Athletic Complex in Holly Springs, N.C.

The series against Canisius was originally scheduled to be played at Spuhler Field Friday, March 17 through Sunday, March 19, but was moved due to field conditions.  The Patriots will remain the home team in the series.

Mason (6-11) and Canisius (10-6) will begin the three-game series with a doubleheader on Saturday, March 18 with the first game slated for 1 p.m.  The final game of the series will be played Sunday, March 19 with the first pitch scheduled for 11 a.m.

Last time out, Mason fell behind early against N.C. State in a midweek contest, with the Wolfpack defeating the Patriots 7-3 on Wednesday at Doak Field in Raleigh, N.C.

The Patriots took advantage of four walks in the top of the first inning to take the lead when junior Tyler Nelin was issued a free pass with the bases loaded and two outs, forcing in sophomore Michael Smith from third to give Mason a 1-0 advantage.

N.C. State responded by scoring five runs on four hits in the home half of the first, including a grand slam, to take control of the game.

The Patriots have allowed at least one run in the first inning in each of their last seven games.

Down 6-1, Mason put a dent in the N.C. State lead in the top of the fourth.  With one out, sophomore Alejandro Aponte singled and freshman John Callahan followed with his first NCAA home run, a two-run blast over the left field fence to make it a 6-3 game, but that's as close as Mason would get.

The Patriots have hit 15 home runs over their first 17 games with eight players recording at least one home run so far this season.

Junior Timothy Turner allowed one unearned run over 3.1 innings and senior Tyler Kardas tossed three scoreless innings, allowing just one Wolfpack baserunner.  The duo held N.C. State without a hit over the last six innings of the game.

Callahan went 1-for-3 and belted his first NCAA home run.  Smith was 1-for-4 with a walk and scored a run.  He leads Mason with 19 runs scored this season.  Nelin drove in his 17th run of the season.

Nelin is batting .343 and leads the team in hits (23), doubles (7), home runs (5) and is second with 17 RBI in 17 games.  Smith has a .316 average and is third on the team in hits (18) and second with five doubles in his 16 games played.  Junior Trevor Kelly is hitting .324 and is tied for second on the team with two round trippers.

Mason is 3-1 all-time against Canisius.  The two teams last met during the 2015 season, with the Patriots taking two of the three games in the series at Spuhler Field. 

Mason recorded 16 hits in a 7-4 win on April 17, 2015 in the first game of the series, dropped the middle game 7-2 and then won the rubber match 8-3 on April 19, 2015 when Tyler Zombro struck out five in the outing for his fifth win of the season.

CANISIUS SCOUTING REPORT:

Canisius was 32-27 overall last season and finished tied for second in the MAAC with a record of 16-8, just a game out of first place.  The Golden Griffins went 11-5 at home, 17-14 on the road and had a 4-8 record in neutral site games during the 2016 campaign.

After winning 10 of their first 13 games of the season, Canisius has dropped three straight games and have been outscored by a combined score of 16-2.  The Golden Griffins lost 2-1 and 3-1 to Winthrop in Rock Hill, S.C. last weekend and were blanked by Virginia Tech 11-0 in Blacksburg, Va. on Monday.

Last time out, Canisius (10-6) was held to just five hits by the Hokies and Virginia Tech used a seven-run third inning to break the game open. 

Senior Jake Lumley leads Canisius with a .403 average (27-for-67), junior Ryan Stekl is second on the team in both average (.361) and RBI (11), while senior Christ Conley paces the Golden Griffins with 12 RBI.

Canisius has hit only two home runs this season and has been held to a total of 18 extra base hits through 16 games.

The Golden Griffins have yet to play a home game this season.  Canisius has a record of 3-5 in road games and 7-1 in games played at a neutral site.

MASON PROBABLE STARTERS:

Saturday (Game 1):  RHP Tyler Zombro (0-3, 2.86)
Saturday (Game 2):  LHP Brian Marconi (2-1, 5.21)
Sunday:  RHP Zach Mort (1-2, 4.88)

STRIKE ZONE: 

The North Main Athletic Complex is the home of the Holly Springs Salamanders of the Coastal Plain League, which consists of 16 teams throughout the Carolinas and Virginia. 

The Coastal Plain League plays a 56-game regular season schedule and there have been nearly 100 players from the league who have gone on to play in the major leagues, including Justin Verlander (Wilson Tobs) and Kevin Youkilis (Florence Red Wolves). 

Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson also played baseball in the Coastal Plain League with the Gastonia Grizzlies.