BASEBALL vs. Rhode Island
2017 ATLANTIC 10 BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
WHEN:  Wednesday, May 24 | 2:30 p.m. EST                                          
WHERE:  Billiken Sports Center | St. Louis, Mo.
RECORDS: Mason (25-31, 13-11 A-10), Rhode Island (30-20, 17-6 A-10)
BRACKETS | TOURNAMENT CENTRAL | LIVE AUDIO | LIVE STATS

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Saint Louis, Mo. – After earning a spot in the 2017 Atlantic 10 Baseball Championship on the final day of the regular season, the George Mason baseball team is seeded seventh and will face second-seeded Rhode Island in the first round of the double-elimination tournament on Wednesday at the Billiken Sports Center in Saint Louis, Mo.  The first pitch is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. EST.

Mason (25-31, 13-11 A-10) punched its ticket into the A-10 Championship on Saturday, closing out the regular season with a 6-2 victory over Saint Louis at Spuhler Field.  The victory, combined with George Washington's win over Saint Joseph's, propelled the Patriots into the tournament for the second time in program history.

The Patriots took a commanding lead in the bottom of the second, sending 10 batters to the plate and scoring five runs on six singles and two errors to take a 5-0 lead over the Billikens.

Juniors Tyler Nelin, Michael Smith and Frank Sturek, along with sophomore Jonathan Hansen each drove in a run in the inning.  Hanson plated another run in the third with his fourth double of the season.  The Patriots went 6-for-13 with runners in scoring position.

Sophomore Brian Marconi (7-5), who led Mason in wins, allowed just one run over 6.0 innings to earn the victory over Saint Louis in the must-win game.

Mason finished the regular season with an overall record of 25-31 and went 13-11 against Atlantic 10 opponents.  The 13 wins for the Patriots against conference foes were the second-most for Mason since recording a 16-9 mark in the inaugural season in the Atlantic 10 in 2014.

The Patriots enter the tournament as the seventh seed.  Davidson also finished the regular season with a conference record of 13-11, but the Wildcats won the tiebreaker to earn the sixth seed based on winning percentage against common opponents.

The winner of the game between Mason and Rhode Island will advance to play in round two on Thursday at 11 a.m. EST against the winner of the contest between No. 3 St. Bonaventure and No. 6 Davidson. 

The two lowest-seeded teams to lose in the first three games on Wednesday will play an elimination game later that evening at 9:30 EST.

At the plate, freshman Logan Driscoll batted .323 and was third on the team in RBI (37) and tied for fourth on the team in hits (50).  Nelin had a .299 average and led Mason in hits (61), home runs (9), doubles (15) and was second in RBI (38) and runs scored (42).  He ranked second in the A-10 in hit by pitch (15) and third in plate appearances (249).

Junior Trevor Kelly finished the regular season with a .298 average and led the Atlantic 10 with 51 RBI.  He was second on the team in hits (56) and tied for second on the squad in home runs (6). 

Sophomore Brady Acker hit .263 and tied for second on the team in home runs (6) and tied for fourth in hits (50).  Smith, who hit .254, led Mason and tied for fourth in the conference with 44 runs scored and tied for second in the A-10 with 34 walks.

The Patriots have hit nine home runs over the last 14 games.

Making their second appearance in the A-10 Championship, the Patriots will be in familiar surroundings when the tournament begins. 

In their first year in the conference, the Patriots went 4-0 with three one-run wins in the 2014 Atlantic 10 Baseball Championship, which was also held at the Billiken Sports Center.

Mason defeated Dayton 4-3 in 11 innings in round one, with Tyler Zombro allowing just one hit over three scoreless innings for the win.  The Patriots then beat Saint Joseph's 5-4 in the second round to advance to the semi-finals.

Mason blanked fourth-seeded VCU 3-0 in the semi-finals before clinching the title with a 3-2 win over the Rams in 10 innings in the championship game to advance to the NCAA Houston Regional.

Luke Willis was named the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament.  He was one of four Patriots, including Jared Gaynor, Anthony Montefusco and Zombro named to the All-Tournament Team.

This season, Mason went 9-3 on the road against Atlantic 10 opponents, winning three of four road series.

The Patriots snapped the Rams 10-game winning streak, taking two of three games in the series at Bill Beck Field two weeks ago, with each of the three games decided by a single run. 

The teams split a doubleheader on May 12, with Rhode Island taking the first game 4-3 before Mason earned a 10-9 victory in the nightcap.  The Patriots won the series with a 5-4 victory in the finale on May 13.

The Patriots were the only team to defeat the Rams twice at Bill Beck Field in Kingston, R.I.  Mason scored 18 runs on 21 hits over the three games and belted a home run in each game of the series.  Sturek, Nelin and Kelly each connected on round trippers.

SCOUTING RHODE ISLAND

Rhode Island finished the regular season with a record of 30-20 and went 17-6 against Atlantic 10 opponents.  The Rams were 14-3 at home, 14-14 on the road and 2-3 in games played at a neutral site.

The Rams, the second seed, are making their 14th appearance in the Atlantic 10 Championship in the last 15 years. 

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 Championship, outscoring opponents by a combined score of 38-7.  Rhode Island powered past Fordham 10-1 in its first game before downing Davidson 13-4 and 15-2 to win the tournament 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.

This season, the Rams finished with the lowest team ERA in the conference (3.54).  Freshman Vitaly Jangols had a record of 6-1 with a 2.05 ERA in eight starts, junior Matt Murphy was 5-3 with a 3.52 ERA in 14 starts and junior Nick Johnson had a 3-3 record and 4.37 ERA in nine starts.

Out of the bullpen, junior closer Tyler Barss ranked second in the A-10 with 11 saves.  He allowed just five earned runs in 31 innings of work.

At the plate, junior Jordan Powell led the Rams with a .355 average and was second on the team in hits (71).  Junior Chris Hess batted .344 during the regular season and led the team in hits (72), doubles (20), triples (3) and runs scored (39). 

Senior Matt O'Neil has a .324 average and led the squad in RBI (50), was second in home runs (13) and third in hits (61).  Senior Mike Corin batted .298 and led the Atlantic 10 with 17 home runs during the regular season.

The Rams have dropped four of their last five games.  Before a 6-5 win over Bryant in the regular-season finale, Rhode Island's four-game losing streak May 12-18 matched the longest of the season for the Rams.

PROBABLE STARTERS

Mason:  RHP Tyler Zombro (5-5, 2.71)
Rhode Island:  RHP Matt Murphy (5-3, 3.52)

STRIKE ZONE

There have been seven different A-10 Tournament champions over the last eight years, with Saint Louis the only team to win the title twice in that time.  The last back-to-back conference tournament champion was Charlotte in 2007 and 2008.

Only five teams have won back-to-back Atlantic 10 Tournament championships in the 38-year history of the tournament.  Charlotte in 2007 and 2008, Virginia Tech in 1999 and 2000, UMass in 1995 and 1996, Rutgers in 1990 and 1991 and Temple in 1983 and 1994.

The Atlantic 10 Championship has been held at 16 different host locations since 1979.  The last team to win the championship on its home field was Rutgers, taking the title when the tournament was held in Piscataway, N.J. in 1986. 

The Scarlet Knights have won the most Atlantic 10 Tournament championships, claiming the title six times in program history.

2017 ATLANTIC 10 BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP SEEDING

#1 VCU (19-5, 33-20)
#2 Rhode Island (17-6, 30-20)
#3 St. Bonaventure (15-8, 26-20)
#4 George Washington (14-10, 30-25)
#5 Saint Louis (12-10, 32-20)
#6 Davidson (13-11, 27-23)
#7 George Mason (13-11, 25-31)