Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2
Game One Box score
Game Two Box score
FAIRFAX, Va. – The George Mason baseball team split a doubleheader with Lafayette on Sunday afternoon at Spuhler Field. The Patriots dropped the first game 3-2 and won the nightcap by the final score of 13-12.
Mason (7-11) fell behind in game one when Lafayette (8-11) scored two runs in the top of the first against starter
Bryce Nightengale. Leopards senior Luke Robinson walked and scored on a wild pitch and classmate Patrick Nelson drove in a run with a single in the inning.
The Patriots cut the lead in half in the bottom of the second against Leopards starter John Cain.
Mason loaded the bases with no outs before junior
Alejandro Aponte drove in a run with a sacrifice fly to center field to make the score 2-1.
In the bottom of the fourth, with runners on second and third, sophomore
Logan Driscoll plated a run with a sacrifice fly to center to tie the score 2-2.
After allowing two runs on two hits in the first inning, Nightengale retired 19 of the next 22 batters he faced in the game before Mason turned the game over to the bullpen.
Lafayette senior Steven Cohen led off the top of the eighth with a single off Mason reliever
Ryan Ricci. After a sacrifice bunt, sophomore John Marti singled to left field to drive in Cohen with the go-ahead run to give the Leopards a 3-2 victory.
Nightengale allowed two runs on three singles over a season-high 7.0 innings in the no-decision. He struck out a season-high 10 batters. Ricci (1-1) surrendered a run on two hits in 2.0 innings and took the loss.
Cain allowed two runs on five hits over 4.0 innings for the Leopards. Lafayette junior Kyle Johnson (1-0) tossed two scoreless innings to earn the win, while freshman J.P. Woodward picked up the save for the Leopards.
Logan Driscoll went 2-for-3 and drove in a run, while Aponte was 1-for-2 and also knocked in a run for Mason.
In game two, Mason sent 11 batters to the plate and scored seven runs on seven hits in the home half of the first against Lafayette starter John Faraci to take a 7-0 lead. Senior
Trevor Kelly provided the big hit in the inning, smashing a two-run home run over the left field fence.
Lafayette scored two runs in the second and added three more in the fourth against Mason starter
Brian Marconi to cut the Patriots advantage to 7-5. Sophomore
Jared DiCesare took over on the mound in the fourth and retired 11 of the next 13 batters.
Logan Driscoll drove in a run with a sacrifice fly in the fourth and freshman
Daniel Brooks knocked in two runs with his first triple of the season in the fifth to increase the Patriots lead to 11-5.
Mason junior
Tim Quinn singled in a run in the sixth and Kelly drove in a run with a double in the seventh inning to make the score 13-5.
Lafayette sent 11 batters to the plate in the eighth and took advantage of three walks to score seven runs on five hits to make it a one-run game at 13-12. Senior
Garett Driscoll entered the game and recorded the final out of the inning to stop the rally and preserve the win for the Patriots.
Marconi allowed five runs on seven hits over 3.2 innings. DiCesare (2-3) allowed seven runs on six hits in 4.0 innings, while Driscoll tossed 1.1 scoreless innings to pick up the first save of his collegiate career.
Faraci (0-1) surrendered six runs on five hits and retired just two batters in the start for the Leopards. Lafayette used seven pitchers in the game.
Sturek went 4-for-6 with two singles, a double and a triple. He drove in two runs and scored three runs. Kelly finished 2-for-5 with a home run and three RBI.
Logan Driscoll was 2-for-4 with two RBI and two runs scored.
Every player in the lineup reached base at least once for the Patriots, while eight players had at least one hit. The top four in the batting order were a combined 9-for-20 with nine RBI and seven runs scored. The two teams combined for 25 runs and 26 hits in the game.
The Patriots are back in action when they host Liberty on Tuesday with the first pitch scheduled for 3 p.m. at Spuhler Field.
