FAIRFAX, Va. – George Mason University's softball team gave defending champion Fordham a fight, but that was not enough to get a win in Saturday's Atlantic 10 Conference doubleheader, dropping them 5-3 and 5-2.
The Rams decided both games with one strong inning late on in each game to improve to 7-1 in A-10 play while Mason is now on a three-game conference skid, falling to 4-4 and the sixth place in the standings.
The opening game of the series turned into a real marathon and required two extra innings before a winner was determined. Mason committed all of its three errors in that inning and Fordham took advantage of that, scoring three unearned runs to claim the victory.
Freshman shortstop
Madison Aker, who went 2-for-4 in that game, attempted to start a rally at the bottom of the Patriots' lineup, covering all four bases to score and make it 5-3. However, Fordham's senior pitcher Lauren Quense (15-4), who pitched a complete game, did not allow for any damage from lead-off hitter Jess
Curbeira and from sophomore first baseman
Samantha Zaccari to see off the win.
Mason, too, had its most experienced pitcher – sophomore
Marina Vitalich (7-8) – in the circle for game one. In her ninth complete game, Vitalich gave up seven hits and two earned runs – just like Quense – and struck out six batters, two fewer than her counterpart.
Vitalich and Quense had two and three clean innings in regulation, respectively and were scored on only in the sixth inning. After Skylar Johnston doubled to right center with one out to score two teammates and finally open the scoring, sophomore second baseman
Erin Calpin did the same – except to the left side of center field instead – with two outs to show that the Patriots will not go down easily. Redshirt sophomore third baseman
Jess Middleton (0-3) and freshman catcher
Sydnee Wells (1-4) scored as a result to lock the game into a tie once again.
The multiple traveling Fordham fans did not have to wait as long for the champions' first run in the second game. It came in the opening inning when Madison Aughinbaugh scored Lindsay Mayer with two outs to put the Rams in the lead, 1-0.
The young Mason team stuck around with good pitching by freshmen
Bekah Ansbro (1-7) and tied the game in the fourth inning with doubles from Zaccari and freshman center fielder
Mary-Elizabeth Luttrell, the latter of which came with two outs and scored the sophomore, 1-1.
In the sixth inning, Fordham had five of its nine hits to score four runs and snatch the momentum with both arms. Aker, who earned herself a lead-off position with her first-game performance, was the contributor of another late run by batting Sullivan in with two outs for Mason's second run of the game, 5-2. That, however, was as close as the Patriots came within their prestigious opponent, which extended its win streak to four games.
NEXT ON THE DIAMOND
Mason will have one more chance to come out of the series with something Sunday, when it hosts the Rams for the series finale at noon. The game will also mark the historic first video broadcast from the George Mason Softball Complex.
