FAIRFAX, Va. – The George Mason baseball team earned a spot in the Atlantic 10 Baseball Championship with a 6-2 win over Saint Louis on Senior Day on Saturday afternoon at Spuhler Field.

Mason (25-31, 13-11 A-10) took a commanding lead in the bottom of the second against Saint Louis starter Jackson Wark.  The Patriots sent 10 batters to the plate and scored five runs on six singles and two errors to take a 5-0 lead.

Juniors Tyler Nelin, Michael Smith and Frank Sturek along with sophomore Jonathan Hansen each drove in a run in the inning.  Mason also scored a run on a fielding error by the right fielder.

Saint Louis (32-20, 12-10 A-10) dented the scoreboard in the top of the third against Mason starter Brian Marconi.  Sophomore Cole Dubet led off the inning with a bunt single and later scored on a sacrifice fly to cut the Mason advantage to 5-1.

The Patriots answered back in the home half of the third.  With two outs, sophomore Greg Popatak II and classmate Alejandro Aponte both singled to put runners on first and second.  Hansen followed with his fourth double of the season into the gap in right-center, with Popatak racing home to make it a 6-1 game.

The Billikens scored a run in the seventh but would get no closer as Mason closed out the regular season with a 6-2 victory.

The win, combined with George Washington's win over Saint Joseph's, propelled the Patriots into the 2017 Atlantic 10 Baseball Championship this week in St. Louis, Mo. 

Mason will enter the tournament as the seventh seed and will face second-seeded Rhode Island, the defending A-10 champions, in the first round at the Billiken Sports Center on Wednesday at 1:30 p.m.

Mason seniors Jayme Murray, Ryan Galvin, Tyler Tobin, Riley Stephenson, Tyler Kardas, Brock Hunter and Tyler Zombro were honored on the field in a pregame ceremony.

Marconi (7-5), who led Mason in wins this season, allowed one run on eight singles over 6.0 innings to earn the victory.  Hunter closed out the game by tossing 2.1 scoreless innings. 

Hansen went 2-for-4 with two RBI and scored a run, Aponte finished 2-for-3 with a run scored and Sturek was 2-for-5 and drove in a run.  Every player in the Mason lineup reached base at least once in the game.

The Patriots went 6-for-13 with runners in scoring position, while the Billikens were 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position.  

Mason will participate in the Atlantic 10 Conference Championship beginning Wednesday with a first round matchup against Rhode Island.  The first pitch is scheduled for 1:30 at the Billiken Sports Center in St. Louis, Mo.