BASEBALL at Mount St. Mary's

WHEN:  Tuesday, April 11 | 3:30 p.m.           
WHERE:  E. T. Straw Family Stadium | Emmitsburg, Md.
RECORDS: Mason (12-20, 3-3 A-10), Mount St. Mary's (4-21, 2-8 NEC)
LIVE AUDIO | LIVE STATS
 
BASEBALL vs. Maryland

WHEN:  Wednesday, April 12 | 3 p.m.
WHERE:  Spuhler Field | Fairfax, Va.
RECORDS: Mason (12-20, 3-3 A-10), Maryland (20-10, 6-3 Big Ten)
LIVE AUDIO | LIVE VIDEO | LIVE STATS FAIRFAX, Va. – The George Mason baseball team is back in action with midweek games against Mount St. Mary's and Maryland.

The Patriots finish a stretch of five straight road games when they travel to face Mount St. Mary's on Tuesday, April 11 at E. T. Straw Family Stadium in Emmitsburg, Md. with the first pitch scheduled for 3:30 p.m.

Mason then returns home to take on Maryland on Wednesday, April 12 at Spuhler Field with the first pitch slated for 3 p.m.

Last time out, the Patriots took an early lead, but fell in the third game of its series against Saint Joseph's, dropping a 5-2 decision for the second straight day at Smithson Field in Merion Station, Pa.

Mason (12-20, 3-3 A-10) went in front in the top of the first inning.  With one out, junior Michael Smith singled before junior Tyler Nelin and sophomore Greg Popatak II both walked to load the bases.

Junior Trevor Kelly then drove in a run when he grounded into a fielder's choice, with Smith racing home from third to give the Patriots a 1-0 advantage.

Saint Joseph's responded in the home half of the first, scoring two runs against starter Brian Marconi to take a 2-1 lead.

Mason evened the score in the top of the third.  Nelin led off the inning with a single, stole second base and scored all the way from second on a passed ball to tie the game 2-2.

The Hawks scored the final three runs of the game, plating two in the fourth and another in the eighth for the 5-2 final score.

Marconi (3-4) allowed four runs on six hits over 5.0 innings and took the loss.  Senior Tyler Kardas allowed one run on three hits in 2.2 innings of work and senior Ryan Galvin struck out the lone batter he faced in the eighth.

Nelin went 1-for-3 with a walk and scored a run.  Smith finished 1-for-4 and scored his team-leading 25th run of the season, while Kelly drove in his 20th run of the season for Mason.

Sophomore Tim Quinn is batting .300 in 15 games played and has at least one hit in nine of his last 11 starts.  Kelly is hitting .292 and is tied for second on the team in home runs (4) and is second in RBI (20). 

Nelin is hitting .267 and leads the team in hits (32), doubles (9), home runs (6) and RBI (22).  He has reached base at least once in each of his last six games.  Smith has a .261 average and leads the team in runs scored (25) and is second in hits (30). 

The Patriots have hit 24 home runs over the first 32 games of the season.  Mason has hit six round trippers in the last 10 games.  Nine players have hit at least one home run for the Patriots so far this season.

Mason is 6-11 at home, 4-6 on the road and 2-3 in neutral site games this season.

MOUNT ST. MARY'S SCOUTING REPORT:

Mount St. Mary's went 11-37 overall last season and finished 8-24 against Northeast Conference opponents.  The Mountaineers went 4-16 at home and 7-21 on the road during the 2016 campaign.

The Mountaineers and Patriots were scheduled to play earlier this season in Emmitsburg, Md., but the game scheduled for March 21 was postponed due two field conditions. 

Mount St. Mary's (4-21, 2-8 NEC) played the first 14 games of the season on the road and went winless in those contests.  The Mountaineers began the season with a four-game series at New Mexico State, played three games at North Carolina A & T, a single game at Duke and a three-game series at both Savannah State and Central Connecticut.

The Mountaineers then won four of five games during a five-game homestand March 24-29, taking two of three from LIU Brooklyn and then sweeping a two-game series against Maryland-Eastern Shore.

Mount St. Mary's has lost its last six games, falling 19-7 and 14-1 at UMBC and dropping four straight at Fairleigh Dickinson, including a 15-2 loss in the final game of the four-game series. 

The Mountaineers have been outscored by a combined score of 63-18 during the six game slide.  Mount Saint Mary's is 4-1 at home and 0-20 on the road this season.

Sophomore Patrick Causa has a .304 average and leads the team hits (29) and is second in RBI (12).  Senior Tyler Post is hitting .284, third on the team in hits (23), tied for first in doubles (8) and fourth in RBI (10).  Freshman Jared Urban is batting .283 and is second on the squad in hits (28), tied for second in doubles (8) and is third in RBI (11). 

Mason is 9-2 all-time against Mount St. Mary's including a 2-1 record against the Mountaineers on the road.  The two teams last met during the 2015 season, with the Patriots holding the Mountaineers to just four hits in an 8-0 win at Spuhler Field. 

PROBABLE STARTERS:

Mason:  RHP Bryce Nightengale (0-3, 9.00)
Mt. Saint Mary's:  RHP Josh Little (0-0, 8.31) 

STRIKE ZONE: 

Mason is playing at Mount St. Mary's for the first time since the 2012 season, when the Patriots earned a 5-2 win over the Mountaineers.  With Mason trailing in the game 1-0, senior Dan Schafferman hit a grand slam in the fifth inning to put the Patriots in front on the way to the victory.

MARYLAND SCOUTING REPORT:

Maryland went 30-27 overall last season and finished 13-11 against conference opponents and won two games in the Big Ten Tournament.  The Terrapins were 15-11 at home, 11-14 on the road and 4-2 in neutral site games during the 2016 campaign.

The Terrapins lost five of their first six games this season, but have a record of 19-5 since, including an eight-game winning streak March 3-12.

Maryland (20-10, 6-3 Big Ten) has a record of 11-1 at home and 5-7 on the road this season.

Sophomore Marty Costes leads Maryland in average (.361), hits (44), home runs (7) and RBI (21).  Former Patriot, senior Brandon Gum, is second on the team with a .346 average, fourth in hits (27) and third in RBI (17).  Junior Zach Jancarski leads the team in doubles (9) and is second in hits (34).

PROBABLE STARTERS:

Mason:  LHP Brock Hunter (1-3, 5.99)
Maryland:  TBD

STRIKE ZONE: 

The Patriots and Terrapins have met 50 times in the all-time series, with each team winning 25 games.  In the last meeting between the two teams, Maryland blanked Mason 11-0 on April 8, 2014 at Spuhler Field.