FAIRFAX, Va. – George Mason University's softball team enjoyed a fantastic start to its Atlantic 10 Conference campaign by defeating La Salle 2-0 on Saturday afternoon.

Freshman center fielder Mary-Elizabeth became the hero of the game by hitting a triple with two outs for Mason in the sixth inning, scoring sophomores Samantha Zaccari and Jess Middleton for the only runs in the game.

The Patriots' day was spoiled in the second game of the doubleheader, in which the Explorers landed the first punch, to which Mason never found a response. Although it started in the same defense-dominated manner as the preceding contest, La Salle scored nine runs in four innings to tie the series up, 9-0.

"It was a tale of two worlds," Mason head coach Joe Verbanic said at the end of the day. "It all comes down to the consistency that we are trying to build and we haven't been able to do that."

Despite the loss in the second game, Middleton had an excellent day at bat, averaging .800 (4-5) after getting multiple hits in each of the contest.
The sophomore pitching duel between Mason's starter Marina Vitalich (4-6) and La Salle's Marlo Roadcap (4-3) took center stage early in game one. A single from La Salle's outfielder Angelina Refice was the sole hit through three innings. Over the course of her seventh complete game, Vitalich struck out eight batters – as opposed to Roadcap's four in an inning less – and picked up one three-up-three-down inning. The visiting pitcher one-upped Vitalich in the last category after keeping her bases clean in two of the six innings.

Mason's sixth inning was the only one in which either team managed to get multiple hits. Zaccari and Middleton both singled on a 2-2 count following Mason's first and second outs, respectively, setting Luttrell up for her clutch play, which also came with on a 2-2 count.

La Salle attempted to find a response and got a base run through veteran Michelle Hagarty, but Vitalich kept her composure and struck out Mackenzie Obert to cross the 100-pitch mark and close the game.

"That's what good softball is about – pitching, defense, and timely hits," Verbanic said after Mason's second 1-0 start in the program's A-10 era. Last one came in 2015, when the Patriots made a run to the conference championship semifinals.

Freshman Madison Larsen (1-6) carried Mason's pitching momentum into the second game after throwing a three-up-three-down inning to start with and stranding La Salle runners in the second inning to keep the Explorers scoreless. In the meantime, her counterpart Reilly Gearhart did the same to the Patriot batters, who managed just a single by Middleton through two innings.

Despite hitting nothing but singles in the second game, the Explorers' run-rule victory was aided by eight free passes and two Mason errors – the Patriots' only errors during the day – that resulted in three unearned runs. Mason's coaching staff managed to patch up the holes by putting freshmen Bekah Ansbro and Taylor Mayer in the circle as well, but there was no stopping the Explorers once Taylor Rohrbaugh scored Refice with two outs in the third inning.

Mason hit an identical .217 in each game while the nine-hit second game brought the Explorers to .245 on the day. La Salle had four more runners left on base (17-13), all of whom were stranded by Vitalich in the opening game.

NEXT ON THE DIAMOND

The decisive game of the series will be at noon on Sunday. A win would secure Mason consecutive series wins over the Explorers.