Patriot Points

• George Mason will begin its 41^st collegiate season at the Madeira Beach Showcase for five games in Madeira Beach, Fla.
• The Green and Gold return 13 letterwinners from the 2017 campaign, broken down into nine position players and four pithcers. Among them is Atlantic 10 Co-Pitcher of the Year Marina Vitalich and 2015 A-10 Second Team selection Liz Seymour.
• Head Coach Joe Verbanic enters his 14^th season with the program and looks to guide his team to the Atlantic 10 Tournament for the second year in a row.

 
THIS WEEK OF ACTION
 
Friday, Feb. 16 – vs. Eastern Michigan, 1:30 p.m.
Friday, Feb. 16 – vs. Lipscomb, 6:30 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 17 – vs. Virginia, 11:00 a.m.
Sunday, Feb. 18 – vs. Monmouth, 9:00 a.m.
Sunday, Feb. 18 – vs. Abilene Christian, 11:30 a.m.
 
The George Mason Softball team will open its 41^st season down in Florida in the Madeira Beach Showcase in Maderia Beach, Fla. The Patriots' slate of games includes Friday contests against host team Eastern Michigan (1:30 p.m.), Lipscomb (6:30 p.m.) followed by a Saturday matinee against in-state rival Virginia (11:00 a.m.) and back-to-back Sunday morning games against Monmouth (9:00 a.m.) and Abilene Christian (11:30 p.m.) to close out their participation.
 
Head Coach Joe Verbanic enters his 14^th season at the helm of the team, this year being his first with Kiana Quolas and Justin Walker as his assistants. Quolas, joining Mason from Coastal Carolina, is the defacto pitching coach while Walker, promoted for his work as the volunteer assistant coach at Mason, will have his focus on instructing with the hitting.
 
George Mason returns 13 letterwinners from the previous season and welcome eight newcomers to the roster. Notable returners include 2017 A-10 Co-Pitcher of the Year Marina Vitalich and RS-junior Liz Seymour. Seymour missed the entire 2017 season due to injury, but her .354/.393/.532 career slash line will provide the Patriots the return of her impact bat in the middle of the lineup. Among players currently on the roster, Seymour's .925 OPS is the highest on the team.
 
Vitalich is on the verge of re-writing the record books this season. The San Pedro, Calif. native checks in 25 strikeouts shy of breaking the program record for a career, and is nine shutouts shy of becoming the program record holder in that department. Vitalich also has four career saves, making her two shy of breaking that school record as well.  
 
Statistically, Vitalich had one of the best seasons in program history in 2017. In addition to being named A-10 Co-Pitcher of the Year, her 195 strikeouts was four shy of tying the program record, her 14 wins is tied for 4^th all-time and her 195 innings pitched is tied for 5^th. Additionally, she led the conference in ERA (1.87), finished second in strikeouts, third in innings pitched and was named pitcher of the week for Apr. 17.
 
Outfielder Brooke Sullivan is the team's lone senior this season. The Newville, Pa. native hit .281 last season while playing seven games at catcher and 26 games in the outfield. Last year, she finished second on the Patriots in batting average and was tied for first in triples in a resurgent junior year.
 
Sophomore Sydnee Wells is expected to have the first opportunity managing the pitching staff behind the plate. 36 of her 54 starts last season was at catcher and led all Patriots at that position with a .987 fielding percentage. Last season, the pitching staff had a 2.79 ERA and tossed four shutouts with Wells behind the dish. On top of her defense, Wells was no easy out at the plate either. The La Crescenta, Calif. native posted a slash line of .252/.348/.368 during her freshman season and was tied for the team lead in home runs.
 
Freshmen to watch include first baseman Adriana Erickson and pitcher Haellie Gordon. Erickson is a transfer from James Madison and is expected to get opportunities hitting high in the order. Verbanic is excited to incorporate Gordon into the pitching rotation, saying the ball has an "electricity" coming out of her hand.
 
Of the 26 opponents on the 2018 schedule, Fordham represents the one opponent that played in the 2017 NCAA Tournament. The Patriots additionally will play three of the other five teams that participated in last year's A-10 Tournament.