BASEBALL at UMBC

WHEN:  Wednesday, March 29 | 6 p.m.
WHERE:  Alumni Field | Baltimore, Md.
RECORDS: Mason (9-14, 2-1 A-10), UMBC (4-11, 2-1 America East)
LIVE VIDEO | LIVE STATS FAIRFAX, Va. – The George Mason baseball team is on the road for a mid-week, non-conference matchup against UMBC on Wednesday, March 29 at Alumni Field in Baltimore, Md.  The first pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m.

Mason (9-14) won its first Atlantic 10 series of the season, taking two of three from Fordham last weekend at Spuhler Field.

The Patriots earned a 2-0 victory in game one with senior Tyler Zombro tossing a complete game.  Mason then used the long ball to win game two 8-4, with sophomore Greg Popatak II belting a three-run homer and classmate Brady Acker connecting on a solo home run. 

Last time out, the Patriots were denied the sweep, falling to Fordham 6-5 in the series finale on Sunday.  Acker went 1-for-2 with a double and scored three of Mason's five runs.  Junior Michael Smith knocked in two runs, while junior Tyler Nelin and classmate Frank Sturek each drove in a run in the game.

Sophomore Tim Quinn is batting .333 in 10 games played.  Junior Trevor Kelly is hitting .321 and is third on the team with 15 RBI and tied for third with three home runs. 

Nelin has a .289 average and leads the team in hits (26), doubles (8) and home runs (5) and is second with 18 RBI.  Smith is batting .280 and is second on the team in hits (23) and leads the team in runs scored (21).

The Patriots have hit at least one home run in nine of the last 10 games.  Nine players have hit at least one home run so far this season.

Mason is 43-15 all-time against UMBC including a 7-3 record in the last 10 meetings at Alumni Field in Baltimore. 

The game between the Patriots and Retrievers scheduled for last season was cancelled due to weather conditions in Fairfax.

The two teams last met on April 28, 2015 at Spuhler Field.  The Retrievers used four straight two-out hits to score three runs in the first inning, then added two more runs in the second to build a 5-0 lead on the way to a 6-4 win over the Patriots.

UMBC SCOUTING REPORT:

UMBC went 28-23 overall last season and finished 13-10 in America East play.  The Retrievers were 16-5 at home, 11-14 on the road and 1-4 in neutral site games during the 2016 campaign.

The only teams to defeat UMBC at home last season were George Washington, Stony Brook, Binghamton and Hartford.

The Retrievers lost 10 of their first 12 games of the season, including five in a row to start the year.

UMBC (4-11, 2-1 America East) took two of three in its series against Albany last weekend.  The Retrievers won the first game 7-6, the Great Danes claimed the middle game 9-1 and UMBC won the series with a 9-3 victory on Sunday.

The Retrievers have hit only four home runs over their first 15 games of the season and no player has hit more than one.

Junior Collin Stack in batting .310 and leads the team with 18 hits.  Junior Jamie Switalski has a .296 average and leads the team in doubles (5) and is tied for the team lead with eight RBI.

STRIKE ZONE: 

The Patriots and Retrievers met for the first time in 1972.  Mason won the first 12 meetings against UMBC from 1972 through 1976, outscoring the Retrievers by a combined score of 74-20.

The Patriots have won 11 of the last 14 games in the series since 2001.

The Retrievers have posted a victory in each of the last two meetings.  UMBC earned an 11-10 win at home in 2013 and defeated the Patriots 6-4 in 2015 at Spuhler Field.

UMBC has won three straight games against Mason in the all-time series only once (1994-1995).