• Marina Vitalich strikes out one batter in a relief appearance to break the program record for most career strikeouts (396); picks up her fifth career save to tie the program record.
• Brooke Sullivan sets a net career high with three hits in game two, ties her career high wit two of them going for extra bases.
• Patriots finish the 2018 Cherry Blossom Classic 3-1, hit the road for a six-game slate in Florida beginning Tuesday.

 
GAME ONE FINAL: Cornell 7, Mason 4 (8 innings)
Winning Pitcher: Katie Lew (3-2) – Losing Pitcher: Bekah Ansbro (1-4)
 
GAME TWO FINAL: Mason 8, Siena College 4
Winning Pitcher: Haellie Gordon (5-1) – Losing Pitcher: Brooke Hughes (0-4) – Save: Marina Vitalich (1)
 
FAIRFAX, Va. – George Mason Softball finished off the long home stand with two Sunday afternoon games in the 2018 Cherry Blossom Classic. Mason dropped game one to Cornell 7-4 (8 innings), but rebounded with an 8-4 win over Siena College.
 
Junior Marina Vitalich made a relief appearance in game two and struck out the second batter she faced to break the school record for most career strikeouts. Her 396^th passed Lisa Davis for sole possession, and picked up her fifth career save to tie her with Rene Leveque for the program record.
 
Senior Brooke Sullivan notched a career high three hits against Siena College and four hits total on Sunday afternoon. Her two doubles in game two tied her career high – the third time she's had multiple extra base hits in a game.
 
RS-junior Liz Seymour chipped in two hits and scored three runs in the two games. Her two runs against Siena College came one apiece in Mason's two three-run innings.
 
"Anytime you win three out of four you have nothing to complain about," head coach Joe Verbanic said. "But at the same it's always a process with getting better and getting as good as we can get. We're not complete yet and the most important part of our year comes in conference play, but I like the path we're on."
 
Cornell put up the first crooked number in game one with a two-run first inning to take the early lead. Starter Bekah Ansbro silenced the Big Red bats in the next two innings with a 1-2-3 second and a bottom of the third that saw just one baserunner.
 
Jess Curbeira cut the lead in half with an RBI single in the bottom of the third, setting up two full scoreless innings to send the game to the sixth at 2-1 clip in favor of the Big Red. In the aforementioned sixth inning, Cornell added an unearned run to retake a two-run lead at 3-1. The Patriots had the bases loaded in the bottom of half of the sixth, but were unable to cash in and Cornell took the 3-1 lead into the seventh.
 
With their backs against the wall, the Patriots' first two hitters reached via single and error to put them in a prime position to win the game in walk-off fashion. After Sullivan scored on a Sydnee Wells ground out, Miah Wilson singled up the middle to bring home Seymour to tie the game at 3-3 and put a stamp on the late-inning heroics.
 
However, Cornell exploded for four runs in the eighth inning to go up 7-3 in the first frame of extra innings. Mason added one run in the bottom half of the eighth to make it 8-4, but it was too little, too late as Cornell took game one.
 
Verbanic gave Gordon the ball in game two against Siena College for a chance to pick up two wins in two days. The Patriots' offense did its part early to make sure that happened with a three-run first inning featuring RBI singles from Wells and Hannah Rosenfeld, as well as a bases loaded walk from Jess Middleton.
 
After the Saints made it 3-1 with an RBI single in the second inning, Gordon and the Patriots faced adversity in the top of the third when Siena College took a 4-3 lead on a three-run home run by Madysen Cossack. Gordon's teammates picked her up with a timely bottom of the fourth that began with a Sullivan double that advanced Curbeira to third. With ducks on the pond and one out, Seymour singled to tie it and Wells picked up an RBI on a ground out to take the lead at 5-4. When the bottom half of the fourth concluded after two runs and three hits, Verbanic sent Vitalich to the circle in relief and putting Gordon in line for the win in the process.
 
With one out in the top of the fifth, Vitalich struck out Jazmin Ortiz to ink her 396^th career strikeout and become the all-time leader in career punchout's by those who have worn a George Mason softball uniform. It was Vitalich's only strikeout of the game, but she remained effective and didn't surrender a run during her three innings of work – picking up her first save of the season in the process.
 
Helping Vitalich's effectiveness was a big sixth inning of run support when the Patriots took advantage of two fielding errors to go up 8-4. With the four run lead in the seventh, Vitalich shut the door and clinched the Patriots win to finish Sunday with a victory.
 
NEXT ON THE DIAMOND
 
Mason will head to Florida next week for a six-game road trip to close out non-conference play. Just one day off separates the return to the diamond with a doubleheader at Bethune-Cookman on March 13, followed by a two-game appearance in the Stetson Hatter Roundup against Manhattan College and Stetson (March 15). The Green and Gold finish the road trip on St. Patrick's day with a doubleheader at Jacksonville before returning home.