RICHMOND, Va. – The George Mason baseball team built a four-run lead and then hung on for a 7-6 win over Richmond on Friday afternoon in the first of a three-game Atlantic 10 series at Pitt Field in Richmond, Va.

Mason (19-24, 8-5 A-10) took the lead in the top of the first against Spiders starter Robbie Baker.  Junior Michael Smith led off the game with a walk and then stole second base.  With two outs in the inning, junior Tyler Nelin lifted a fly ball to right, where Spiders right fielder Jake Wood lost the ball in the sun, with Smith scoring on the error to give Mason a 1-0 advantage.  Smith is 4-for-4 in stolen base attempts this season. 

Richmond (14-25, 5-8 A-10) responded in the bottom of the first against senior Tyler Zombro.  Spider's sophomore D.J. Lee led off with a double down the left field line and moved to third on a sacrifice bunt.  Junior Daniel Brumbaugh then drove in his 30th run of the season, with Lee crossing the plate to tie the game 1-1.

Baker was cruising along for the Spiders, retiring 11 Mason batters in a row from the first inning through the fifth inning.  The Patriots were held without a hit and managed just three baserunners in the first five innings.

The Spiders jumped in front in the home half of the fifth when junior Vinny Capra hit his fourth home run of the season, a two-run blast over the left field fence with two outs to make the score 3-1. 

After being held hitless in the first five innings, the Patriots rallied to take the lead in the top of the sixth when they sent nine batters to the plate and scored five runs on five hits.

Sophomore Brady Acker collected the first hit of the game for Mason when he led off with a double off the left field wall.  Smith followed with a bunt single and junior Frank Sturek walked to load the bases with no outs.

With a Patriot on every base, freshman Logan Driscoll took advantage of the opportunity and put Mason in front with one swing of the bat.  Driscoll crushed his second grand slam of the season with a blast to straightaway center field to give the Patriots a 5-3 lead. 

Sophomore Greg Popatak II continued the inning with a triple off the wall in center field.  Junior Trevor Kelly then plated another run with a single up the middle, with Popatak coasting home to extend the lead to 6-3. 

The Patriots have hit five grand slams this season, with four of them by catchers.  Driscoll has hit two, while Nelin, Kelly and sophomore Bailey Klein have each connected for one grand slam.

Mason has belted three grand slams over the last 11 games.

In the eighth, Driscoll doubled off the top of the wall in right-center field and moved to third on a wild pitch.  Nelin then walked to put runners on first and third.  With one out, Kelly drove in his second run of the game with a single to center,  with Driscoll crossing the plate to make the score 7-3.

Richmond once again countered in the home half of the inning, scoring three runs on five hits to make it a one-run game at 7-6. 

The Spiders collected four straight hits against Zombro before Mason made the call to the bullpen.  Junior Timothy Turner recorded two outs and classmate Ryan Ricci notched the final out of the inning.

Senior Ryan Galvin entered the game to start the ninth and retired the first two batters he faced before departing with runners on first and second.  With senior Tyler Tobin on the mound, Richmond loaded the bases before Tobin ended the game with a strikeout to preserve the Patriots 7-6 victory.

Mason improved to 6-3 this season in games decided by one run.  With 19 wins, the Patriots have equaled their win total from last season.

Zombro (5-4) allowed six runs on 11 hits over 7.0 innings to earn the win.  Four Mason relievers combined to toss two scoreless innings with Tobin picking up his second save of the season.  The Patriots recorded five strikeouts and didn't walk a batter in the game.

Driscoll went 2-for-4 with his second grand slam of the season, a double, four RBI and two runs scored.  He increased his hitting streak to five games.  Kelly finished 2-for-4 and drove in a pair of runs.  He now leads the team with 35 RBI.  Smith was 1-for-4 and scored two runs and has reached base safely in 12 straight games.

The middle game of the series is Saturday at Pitt Field with the first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m.