DAYTON, Ohio – The George Mason baseball team won both games of an Atlantic 10 doubleheader, defeating Dayton 8-6 in game one and 10-5 in the nightcap on Saturday to complete a three-game sweep over the Flyers at Spectrum Stadium.

Mason has won five straight games for the first time since winning five in a row Feb. 22 – March 1, 2013.  It's the first three-game sweep for the Patriots since joining the Atlantic 10 Conference.

The Patriots have scored 52 runs on 64 hits during their five-game winning streak.  Mason has collected at least 10 hits in all five games and outscored opponents by a combined score of 52-21, while committing only one error.

Mason (17-20, 6-3 A-10) fell behind in the first inning as the Flyers struck first against starter Brian Marconi in game one.

Dayton (10-24, 1-8 A-10) sophomore Pat Meehan let off the inning with a walk and with one out, senior Nick Ryan singled through the left side to put runners on the corners.  Freshman Brandon Smith then hit a three-run home run to straightaway center field to put Dayton in front 3-0.

The Patriots got on the board in the top of the second when junior Tyler Nelin belted his eighth home run of the season, a solo blast to left-center to cut the lead to 3-1.

Mason sent eight batters to the plate in the top of the third and scored three runs on two hits against Dayton starter Tyler Henry.

Junior Frank Sturek led off the inning with a triple to center.  With one out, sophomore Brady Acker was hit by a pitch and freshman Logan Driscoll followed with a RBI groundout, with Sturek scoring easily to make it a one-run game at 3-2.

Mason junior Trevor Kelly reached on an error by the third baseman, with Driscoll scoring on the play to tie the game 3-3.  Nelin then drove in his second run of the game when he doubled to center, with Kelly crossing the plate to give the Patriots a 4-3 advantage.

The Flyers responded in the home half of the third, when Brandon Smith hit his second home run of game to even the score at 4-4.

The Patriots grabbed the lead right back in the fourth.  Sophomore Alejandro Aponte led off the inning with a walk and with one out, junior Michael Smith was issued a free pass and Acker singled to load the bases.  Driscoll was hit by a pitch to force in Aponte with the go-ahead run to put Mason up 5-4 and Kelly drove in a run with a ground out to extend the lead to 6-4.

Dayton rallied to tie the game in the bottom of the fifth against Mason sophomore Bryce Nightengale.  Flyers senior Brad Burkhart doubled and went to third on a wild pitch.  After a walk put runners on the corners, senior Cale Dineen drove in Burkhart with a sacrifice fly to make the score 6-5.  Sophomore Connor Echols tied the game 6-6 with a two-out RBI single.

Mason loaded the bases in the sixth when Smith singled and Driscoll and Nelin were both hit by a pitch.  With two outs, sophomore Tim Quinn knocked in the go-ahead run with a single to right field, with Smith scoring for the second time in the game to give the Patriots a 7-6 lead.

The Patriots added a run in the seventh when Aponte doubled with one out and scored later in the inning when Smith singled up the middle with two outs to add an insurance run for the 8-6 final.  

Nelin went 3-for-5 including his eighth home run and 11th double of the season.  He drove in two runs and also scored a run.  Smith was 2-for-5, drove in a run and scored twice.  Aponte finished 2-for-4 including his eighth double of the season and scored two runs, while Acker was also 2-for-4 in the game.

Marconi allowed four runs on five hits over 2.1 innings in the no decision.  Nightengale surrendered two runs on three hits in 2.2 innings of work. 

Junior Timothy Turner (1-1) tossed two scoreless innings, the sixth and seventh, to earn the first win of his collegiate career.

After Junior Ryan Ricci retired the Flyers in order in the eighth inning, the Patriots added another first when senior Ryan Galvin pitched the ninth and picked up his first NCAA save. 

Six Mason pitchers have at least one save this season. 

The Patriots didn't waste any time taking the lead in game two, sending eight batters to the plate in the first against Dayton starter Mason Kutruff.

The first four batters of the inning reached base.  After Smith and Acker both singled, Nelin drove in both baserunners with a single to left-center to put the Patriots in front 2-0.

Dayton cut the lead in half in the bottom of the second against Patriots starter Zach Mort, when Brandon Smith hit his third home run of the afternoon, a solo homer over the high center field fence.

Mason took the lead for good in the fourth, sending nine batters to the plate and scoring five runs on three hits.  With one run in and the bases loaded with one out, Kelly crushed his first career grand slam, a towering blast that hit the scoreboard behind the left field fence as the Patriots built a 7-1 lead.

Mort was cruising along, retiring nine of the 10 batters he faced from the second to the sixth before Dayton got back in the game.

The first four batters in the sixth collected a hit and the first seven batters reached base in the inning for the Flyers.  Dayton scored four runs to cut the Mason lead to 7-5 before senior Tyler Kardas entered the game and ended the threat, getting the Flyers to hit into a double play.

The Patriots added a run in the seventh when Nelin walked with the bases loaded to force in a run to make the score 8-5.  Mason then took advantage of three Flyers errors in the eighth inning, with freshman John Callahan and Aponte both crossing the plate to double the lead to 10-5.

Kelly went 2-for-5 and drove in four runs with his first NCAA grand slam.  He has driven in 10 runs over the last four games.  Nelin was 1-for-2 with two walks and was hit by a pitch twice.  He drove in three runs in the game and has 11 RBI in his last five games.

Aponte went 2-for-4 for his third straight multi-hit game and scored three runs.  Smith was 1-for-3 and was hit by a pitch three times in the game.  He scored two runs in each of the three games in the series against the Flyers.

Mason batters were hit by a pitch a season-high seven times in the contest.  The Patriots had the leadoff batter reach base safely six times in the game. 

Mort (2-4) allowed five runs on eight hits over 5.1 innings to earn his second win of the season.  Kardas and freshman Jared DiCesare combined for 3.2 scoreless innings in relief.

The Patriots are back on the diamond on Wednesday, April 19 when they play Navy in Annapolis, Md.  The first pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m.