BASEBALL at Rhode Island

WHEN:  Friday, May 12 | 12:00 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. (Doubleheader)
              Saturday, May 13 | 1 p.m.                             
WHERE:  Bill Beck Field | Kingston, R.I.
RECORDS: Mason (22-28, 10-8 A-10), Rhode Island (28-16, 16-4 A-10)
LIVE AUDIO | LIVE STATS FAIRFAX, Va. – The George Mason baseball team is on the road this weekend, facing Rhode Island in an important three-game Atlantic 10 matchup against the conference-leading Rams at Bill Beck Field in Kingston, R.I.  With impending weather, the two teams will play a doubleheader on Friday with the first pitch for game one scheduled for 12 p.m.

Mason (22-28, 10-8 A-10) fell to James Madison 4-3 in a non-conference matchup on Tuesday afternoon at Spuhler Field.  The Dukes jumped out to a four-run lead after four innings and then held on for the win.

The Patriots had the tying run in scoring position in each of the final four innings, but failed to score the equalizer and dropped their fourth straight game.

Sophomore Bryce Nightengale (2-4) allowed four runs on six hits over 5.0 innings and suffered the loss.  Four Mason relievers, freshmen Jakob Ryan and Jared DiCesare and seniors Tyler Tobin and Brock Hunter combined to allow just two hits over four scoreless innings.

Junior Trevor Kelly went 2-for-4 with two singles.  Sophomore Brady Acker was 1-for-3 and scored two runs.  He has scored eight runs in the last nine games.  Freshman Logan Driscoll finished 1-for-3 with two RBI and has now driven in eight runs over his last eight games. 

The Patriots head into the weekend tied for fourth place in the Atlantic 10, trailing only Rhode Island (16-4), VCU (16-5) and St. Bonaventure (14-6).

Driscoll has a .326 average and is third on the team in RBI (32) and tied for fifth in hits (44).  Junior Tyler Nelin is hitting .302 and leads the team in hits (55), home runs (8) and doubles (14) and is third in RBI (36). 

Kelly is batting .299 and leads the A-10 in RBI (50) and is second on the team in home runs (5) and hits (49).  Acker is hitting .266 and is fourth on the squad in hits (45).  Junior Michael Smith has a .253 average and is third on the team in hits (46) and doubles (10).  Smith ranks third in the Atlantic 10 with 41 runs scored.

The Patriots have hit nine home runs in their last 15 games.  Mason has had 12 players hit at least one home run this season.  The Patriots rank third in the Atlantic 10 in fielding percentage (.974).

Mason is 4-3 in the all-time series against Rhode Island.  The Rams took two of three from the Patriots last season at Spuhler Field, winning game one 5-2 and the finale 4-3, while Mason claimed a 2-1 win in the middle game of the series. 

This will be the just the second series that the Patriots have played in Kingston, R.I. and the first since Mason's inaugural campaign in the Atlantic 10 in 2014.  Mason won the first two games against the Rams, 5-0 and 7-0, before falling 7-6 in game three April 18-20, 2014 at Bill Beck Field.

RHODE ISLAND SCOUTING REPORT:

The Rams are 28-16 overall and lead the Atlantic 10 with a record of 16-4 against conference opponents.  Rhode Island is 12-1 at home, 14-12 on the road and 2-3 in neutral site games this season.

Rhode Island played its first 17 games on the road or at a neutral site, winning just seven of those contests.  The Rams have a record of 22-6 over the last 28 games since March 21, including A-10 series sweeps over Davidson, Fordham, Massachusetts and Saint Louis.

The Rams have won nine straight games, outscoring opponents by a combined score of 52-16 and have held opponents to three runs or less in every game.  Rhode Island has won eight straight against A-10 foes, including three-game sweeps at home against UMass and Fordham to vault to the top of the standings in the conference.

Rhode Island is 12-1 at Bill Beck Field this season.  The Rams have outscored their opponents 72-22 at home and have allowed four or fewer runs in 11 of the 13 games.  Rhode Island suffered its only home loss this season to Holy Cross, a 7-3 setback on April 12.

On the mound, Rhode Island has the lowest team ERA in the Atlantic 10 (3.37).  Freshman Vitaly Jangols has the fifth-lowest ERA (1.24) in the Atlantic 10.  Junior Taso Stathopoulos has held opponents to a .178 batting average, fifth-lowest in the conference.  Junior right-hander Tyler Barss is second in the A-10 in saves (10).

Junior Matt Murphy was named Atlantic 10 Pitcher of the Week after recording a career-high nine strikeouts in a 5-0 win over UMass on April 5.  Jangols was tabbed A-10 Rookie of the Week after tossing eight innings on April 7 to improve to 6-1 on the season

At the plate, junior Chris Hess leads the Rams in average (.367), hits (66), runs scored (35) and is second in the Atlantic 10 in doubles (18).  Junior Jordan Powell is second on the team in average (.355) and hits (61).  Senior Matt O'Neil is batting .327, leads the team and is second in the conference in RBI (49) and is third in the A-10 in home runs (13).  Senior Mike Corin leads the Atlantic 10 with 15 home runs this season.
 
PROBABLE STARTERS: 

Game 1:  RHP Tyler Zombro (5-4, 2.58) vs. RHP Matt Murphy (5-2, 2.86)
Game 2:  RHP Zach Mort (3-5, 5.30) vs. RHP Taso Stathopoulos (2-1, 2.14)
Game 3:  LHP Brian Marconi (5-5, 5.28) vs. RHP Vitaly Jangols (6-1, 1.24)

STRIKE ZONE: 

Rhode Island won the 2016 Atlantic 10 regular season title with a record of 18-6.  The Rams then cruised through the competition in the A-10 Tournament, powering past Fordham 10-1 before downing Davidson 13-4 and 15-2 to win the tournament title for the first time since 2005.

In the NCAA South Carolina Regional, the Rams rallied from a four-run deficit to earn a 5-4 victory over No. 6 South Carolina, recording the first win in the NCAA Championship in program history.