FAIRFAX, Va. – With the help of Jess Curbeira's home run, her team's first in front of home crowd this season, George Mason University's softball team earned a dramatic 2-1 win in the series finale against Atlantic 10 Conference champion Fordham.

The sophomore's lead-off homer in the fourth inning was her third for the season and tied the game at 1-1 after in the previous inning Sydney Canessa's RBI single had put the Rams on the board first for the third time in the series. Curbeira's home run also made for Mason's first hit and base run against Fordham pitcher Taylor Stocks, who began the game with three-straight three-up-three-down innings.

"[It] gave us a new life," Mason head coach Joe Verbanic said about the home run. "We played well all weekend and after the tough Saturday the ladies took a great step forward to do what good teams do and close out the series."

The biggest drama of the game was yet to unfold, however. It was orchestrated in the seventh inning by freshman shortstop Madison Aker, who contributed to both of Mason's late runs in Saturday's losses. This time, Aker's at-bat with two outs made all the difference – she forced Fordham's second error of the game and scored sophomore second baseman Erin Calpin for the winning run to snap Fordham's four-game win streak.

"The winning run was special because it was a team type of run with Maddie Aker coming through big with a perfectly executed slap," Verbanic said.

Fordham outhit Mason 9-4, but sophomore pitcher Marina Vitalich (8-8) did well to hold off the Rams' mighty offense by striking out three batters and stranding seven runners over the course of her complete game.

"All weekend long we were anchored by great pitching and solid defense," Verbanic added. "[Vitalich] was huge today."

The victory brought Mason's A-10 record back to above .500 – 5-4 – and moved the Patriots a spot up in the standings to fifth. On the other hand, Fordham surrendered the top spot to Massachusetts, which has played four games fewer than the Rams.

NEXT ON THE DIAMOND

After splitting with Virginia in midweek, Mason will host another in-state opponent, Hampton, for back-to-back games on Wednesday.