Patriots Host Saint Louis for Final Regular Season Series

Baseball 5/17/2017 4:07:00 PM

FAIRFAX, Va. – The George Mason baseball team concludes the regular season, hosting Saint Louis for a three-game Atlantic 10 Conference series beginning Thursday at Spuhler Field, with the first pitch scheduled for 3 p.m.

Mason (24-29, 12-9 A-10) sophomore Brian Marconi tossed eight strong innings and junior Tyler Nelin hit a solo home run in the sixth inning to propel the Patriots to a 5-4 victory over Rhode Island on Saturday afternoon at Bill Beck Field in Kingston, R.I.

The Patriots took the lead in the first inning when freshman Logan Driscoll delivered a bases-clearing double to right field to put Mason in front 3-0 and junior Trevor Kelly kept the rally going with his ninth double of the season, with Driscoll racing across the plate to make it a 4-0 game.

After allowing four runs in the first inning, Marconi retired 21 of the next 25 batters he faced and allowed just one hit. He sat down the Rams in order in the sixth, seventh and eighth.

Marconi (6-5) allowed four runs on five hits and struck out six over 8.0 innings to earn his team-leading sixth win of the season. He has pitched at least seven innings in three of his last four starts. Senior Tyler Tobin tossed a scoreless ninth to pick up his second straight save and team-leading fifth of the season.

The Patriots enter the weekend in fifth place in the conference behind VCU (16-5), Rhode Island (17-6), St. Bonaventure (14-6) and George Washington (13-8). Right behind Mason is Saint Louis (10-9), Davidson (11-10), Saint Joseph's (10-11) and Fordham (9-11).

The top seven teams based on winning percentage advance to the Atlantic 10 Championship.

Driscoll has a .333 average and is tied for second on the team in RBI (37) and is fourth in hits (49). He has eight RBI in his last five games. Nelin leads Mason in hits (58), doubles (15) and home runs (9). Kelly is batting .299 and leads the team in RBI (50) and is second in hits (53) and home runs (6). He has driven in 12 runs in his last eight games.

The Patriots have hit a total of 40 home runs this season, nine in the last 12 games.

Mason finished the regular season with a record of 14-8 on the road, tied for the most road victories by the program in the last 12 years. The Patriots finished the regular season with a record of 9-3 on the road against Atlantic 10 opponents, winning three of four road series including three-game sweeps at Dayton and Richmond.

Each of Mason's last four games and nine of the last 15 has been decided by a single run.

Mason is 2-4 in the all-time series against the Billikens. Saint Louis swept a three-game set against the Patriots last season by scores of 15-0, 15-6 and 3-2 at the Billiken Sports Center in St. Louis, Mo.

Mason won two of three in the series against the Billikens in their only visit to Spuhler Field April 25-27, 2014. The Patriots earned a 2-1 victory in game one and won the finale 9-2, while Saint Louis claimed the middle game 4-3.

SAINT LOUIS SCOUTING REPORT:

Saint Louis has an overall record of 30-19 and is sixth in the Atlantic 10 with a record of 10-9. The Billikens finished the regular season with a record of 16-7 at home and are 8-11 on the road.

Saint Louis has won five of its last seven games after a 6-4 win over Southern Illinois on Tuesday at Rent One Park in Marion, Ill.

Senior Trent Leimkuehler leads the team in average (.335), hits (65), doubles (20) and RBI (36) and is second in runs scored (36). He enters the weekend with a 10-game hitting streak. Junior Nick Reeser is hitting .325 and is third on the team in hits (52). He has reached base safely in 15 straight games.

Sophomore Cole Dubet was named Atlantic 10 Co-Player of the Week by the league on Monday. He went 7-for-12 with five RBI and five runs scored and last Tuesday against SIUE, he finished the game 3-for-3 with three doubles to tie the Saint Louis single-game record for most doubles in a game.

MASON PROBABLE STARTERS:

Game 1: RHP Tyler Zombro (5-5, 2.65)
Game 2: RHP Zach Mort (3-5, 5.79)
Game 3: LHP Brian Marconi (6-5, 5.19)

STRIKE ZONE:

Saint Louis will host the 2017 Atlantic 10 Baseball Championship for the second time, May 24-27 at the Billiken Sports Center. The Billikens also hosted the tournament in 2014.

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