BASEBALL at Navy

WHEN:  Wednesday, April 19 | 3:00 p.m.             
WHERE:  Max Bishop Stadium | Annapolis, Md.
RECORDS: Mason (17-20, 6-3 A-10), Navy (29-12, 10-2 Patriot League)
LIVE AUDIO | LIVE STATS FAIRFAX, Va. – The George Mason baseball team is back on the road for a midweek game against Navy on Wednesday, April 19, with the first pitch scheduled for 3 p.m. at Max Bishop Stadium in Annapolis, Md.

Mason (17-20, 6-3 A-10) swept a three-game series at Dayton last weekend, winning game one 7-1 on Friday before taking both games of a doubleheader on Saturday.  The Patriots won 8-6 in the first game and 10-5 in the nightcap at Spectrum Stadium in Dayton, Ohio.

Junior Timothy Turner (1-1) earned the first win of his collegiate career and senior Ryan Galvin picked up his first NCAA save in the series against the Flyers.

Zach Mort recorded all eight saves for the Patriots in 2016.  This season, six Mason pitchers have at least one save.

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 over a conference opponent since joining the Atlantic 10.

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.

Junior Tyler Nelin was named Atlantic 10 Player of the Week on Monday.  He batted .471 (8-for-17) with 11 RBI and scored six runs over five games.  He hit two home runs, including a grand slam at Mount St. Mary's and recorded at least one hit and drove in at least one run in every game.

It's the second time this season that Nelin has earned the honor.  He was tabbed Atlantic 10 Co-Player of the Week on Feb. 20 after the first three games of the season, when he drove in seven runs and scored three times at the Hughes Bros. Challenge at Brooks Field in Wilmington, NC.

Nelin is batting .292 and leads the team in hits (40), home runs (8), doubles (11) and RBI (33).  Sophomore Tim Quinn has a .306 average with 19 hits and nine RBI. 

Junior Trevor Kelly is hitting .303 and is fourth on the team in hits (33) and second in RBI (32) and home runs (5), while classmate Michael Smith has a .284 average and leads the team in runs scored (35) and is second on the squad in hits (38).

Mason has hit six home runs in the last five games, including two grand slams.  Ten players have hit at least one home run for the Patriots so far this season.

The Patriots and Midshipmen have met 26 times in the all-time series, with each team winning 13 games. 

The two teams met last season at Spuhler Field, with Navy earning a 13-9 win.  The Midshipmen sent 13 batters to the plate in the first inning, scoring eight runs on seven singles, two walks and two Mason errors to take an early 8-0 lead.

The first six batters for the Patriots reached base in the first inning as Mason cut the advantage to 8-4.  The teams combined to use 13 pitchers in the game, Mason eight and Navy five.  There were a total of 347 pitches thrown in the contest.

Smith went 3-for-4 with a walk and scored two runs.  Kelly finished 3-for-5 with two RBIs.  Garett Driscoll was 2-for-4 with a RBI and a run scored and Greg Popatak II drove in a pair of runs in the game. 

NAVY SCOUTING REPORT:

The Midshipmen are 29-12 overall and are currently in first place Patriot League with a record of 10-2.  Navy has a record of 18-6 at home, 10-4 on the road and 1-2 in neutral site games this season.

Navy dropped seven of its first 10 games of the season.  Since March 8, the Midshipmen have won 26 of their last 31 games, including two 11-game winning streaks.

The Midshipmen have outscored their opponents by a combined score of 82-34 during their current 11-game winning streak, allowing five runs or less in eight of the 11 contests.

Navy defeated Coppin State, swept four games from Lafayette, earned wins over Towson and UMES and then swept a four-game series at Lehigh.

Freshman Evan Lowery is hitting.378 and is second on the team in doubles (4) and tied for third in home runs (4).  Junior Logan Knowles has a .360 average and leads the team in hits (59), doubles (13), triples (5) and runs scored (46).  Senior Leland Saile is batting .356 and leads the team in home runs (8) and RBI (48).

STRIKE ZONE: 

Mason hasn't played at Navy since April 11, 2012, when the Patriots scored eight unanswered runs on the way to an 8-6 victory over the Midshipmen.  Mason scored eight runs on nine hits, while Navy scored six runs on four hits.