MERION STATION, Pa. – The George Mason baseball team won its first Atlantic 10 road game of the season, scoring four unanswered runs in a 4-1 win against Saint Joseph's on Friday afternoon at Smithson Field in Merion Station, Pa.

Mason (12-18, 3-1 A-10) fell behind in the bottom of the second.  Saint Joseph's junior Dominic Cuoci led off with a single to right and classmate Matt Maul followed with an infield single to put runners on first and second with no outs.

A fielder's choice by senior Taylor Boyd put runners on the corners with one out.  Boyd then stole second before a wild pitch by Mason starter Tyler Zombro allowed Cuoci to score from third to give the Hawks a 1-0 lead.

That would be the only run the Hawks would score in the game.

Saint Joseph's (7-15, 1-3 A-10) starter Pat Vanderslice kept Mason off the scoreboard through the first five innings.  He allowed just three singles and retired 15 of the first 19 batters he faced before the Patriots were able to take the lead in the top of the sixth.

With two outs, junior Michael Smith started the rally when he walked and classmate Tyler Nelin was then hit by a pitch for the seventh time this season to put runners on first and second.

Sophomore Greg Popatak II followed when he hit a ball to straightaway center field that bounced off the wall.  With the runners moving on contact with two outs, Smith and Nelin both scored on the play to put the Patriots in front 2-1.  Popatak is now second on the team with eight doubles this season.

Junior Trevor Kelly then drove in Popatak with a RBI single up the middle to extend the lead to 3-1.  Five straight batters reached base in the sixth inning for Mason, all with two outs.

"I feel that we have been pretty good with two outs all year," Popatak said.  "We didn't try to do too much and it worked out well for us today.  It's huge getting the first game of the series.  It gives you confidence going into the weekend."

Mason added a run in the top of the eighth.  Kelly lined a two-out single to center and sophomore Tim Quinn followed with a double to left field, with Kelly racing around from first make the score 4-1.

The Patriots scored all four of their runs in the game with two outs and defensively the Patriots were flawless, turning two double plays in the game.  The Hawks had scored at least three runs in each of their last 12 games before Friday.

Saint Joseph's dropped to 5-2 at home.  Villanova, along with Mason, are the only teams to defeat the Hawks at Smithson Field this season. 

Popatak went 1-for-4 with a double, two RBI and scored a run.  He has a six-game hitting streak.  Kelly finished 2-for-4 with a RBI and a run scored.  Quinn was 1-for-3 and drove in a run and now has eight hits in his last seven starts. 

Sophomore Brady Acker went 2-for-5 with two singles and has now reached base safely nine times over the last three games.  Smith scored his team-leading 24th run of the season, while Nelin crossed the plate for the 23rd time this year.

Zombro (3-3) allowed one run on six hits over 7.0 innings to earn his third straight win.  He struck out seven without a walk.  Zombro threw a first pitch strike to 18 of the 26 batters he faced in the game and along with the seven punch outs, he recorded 10 ground outs, two pop outs and one fly out.

Senior Ryan Galvin tossed a scoreless eighth inning for the second straight game.  Freshman Jared DiCesare retired the Hawks in order in the ninth to pick up his second save in as many games and third of the season.

The middle game of the series is Saturday at Smithson Field with the first pitch scheduled for 2 p.m.