BASEBALL vs. Butler
WHEN: Friday, Feb. 23 through Sunday, Feb. 25
WHERE: Lexington County Baseball Stadium | Lexington, S.C.
LIVE STATS
CHARLESTON, S.C. – The George Mason baseball team plays the first of a four-game series against Butler University on Friday with the first pitch scheduled for 2 p.m. at Lexington County Baseball Stadium in Lexington, S.C.
Last weekend, Mason (0-3) dropped its first three games of the season at the Charleston Crab House Challenge at Joseph Riley, Jr. Park in Charleston, S.C. The Patriots fell to The Citadel 3-0 in their first game, suffered a 16-2 setback against Richmond in the second game and then dropped a 15-8 decision to No. 13 Louisville.
Eight players in the Mason starting lineup reached base at least once against Louisville, while seven different players scored at least one run for the Patriots against the Cardinals.
Sophomore
Logan Driscoll leads the Patriots with a .583 average. He had a hit in all three games last weekend and went a combined 7-for-12 with two RBI and two runs scored over the first three games, including 4-for-5 with a double and three singles against the Cardinals.
Against Louisville, freshman
Scott Morgan hit a three-run home run, the first round-tripper of his collegiate career. He also collected four RBI in the game, the first of his NCAA career.
Junior
Zach Mort will start for the Patriots in the first game of the series against the Bulldogs. He allowed just two singles and struck out four over 7.0 scoreless innings in a no decision against The Citadel.
All eight Mason freshmen saw action during the first weekend of the season, with six of the eight out of the bullpen.
Thomas Bradley,
Daniel Brooks,
Austin Cabone,
Ryan Miles,
Mason O'Mara,
James Price,
Michael Yuille, and Morgan each made their debut.
Last season, Mason finished with a 26-33 overall record, including a mark of 13-11 against Atlantic 10 Conference opponents. The Patriots were 9-20 at home, 14-9 on the road and 3-4 in games played at a neutral site.
SCOUTING REPORT
Butler finished with a 31-20 overall record in 2017, including a mark of 7-10 against BIG EAST opponents. The Bulldogs were 10-8 at home, 16-9 on the road and 5-3 in games played at a neutral site.
Butler (4-0) picked up two wins over Lehigh, 12-1 and 15-6, last weekend to go along with a 6-2 victory over UNCW and a 6-5 win against Eastern Kentucky. The Bulldogs collected 39 hits over four games, including eight doubles, four triples and one home run.
Senior Garrett Christman was named BIG EAST Player of the Week. He went 6-for-12 (.500) and drove in seven runs over three games last weekend. Christman also picked up a win on the mound in Butler's 6-2 victory over UNCW, allowing two runs on three hits with seven strikeouts over 6.0 innings of work.
Senior Tyler Houston is batting .368 (7-for-19) with a triple, two doubles and four RBI. Sophomore Harrison Freed is hitting .333 (5-for-15) and leads the team with nine RBI.
STRIKE ZONE
The Patriots are facing the Bulldogs on the diamond for the first time in program history.
PROBABLE STARTERS
Friday: RHP
Zach Mort vs. LHP Connor Mitchell
Saturday (Game 1): RHP
Jared DiCesare vs. RHP Garrett Christman
Saturday (Game 2): RHP
Bryce Nightengale vs. RHP Ryan Pepiot
Sunday: LHP
Brian Marconi vs. RHP Sam Hubbe
