• Mason Splits its Saturday doubleheader with URI, winning the first game 5-2.
• Sydnee Wells blasts her first career grand slam, along with Adriana Erickson hitting her first collegiate home run.
• Haellie Gordon picks up the win in game one two extend her team leading total to six.

 
GAME ONE FINAL: Mason 5, Rhode Island 2
Winning Pitcher: Haellie Gordon (6-4) – Losing Pitcher: Becca Rogers (2-8) – Save: Bekah Ansbro (2)
 
GAME TWO FINAL: Rhode Island 6, Mason 4
Winning Pitcher: Sarah Gunderson (1-4) – Losing Pitcher: Haellie Gordon (6-5)
 
FAIRFAX, Va. – George Mason opened Atlantic 10 conference play with a Saturday afternoon doubleheader against the Rhode Island Rams. Throughout the games, the Patriots benefited from a grand slam by sophomore Sydnee Wells and a solo home run by RS-freshman Adriana Erickson en route to splitting the two games against Rhody.
 
Wells clubbed her first career grand slam in game one for her third home run of the season. The catcher's seventh career roundtripper put her in a four-way tie for 10^th all-time on the Patriots' career leaderboard.
 
Erickson's home run came in game two and was a scorcher to straight away center. The blast made Erickson the fourth Patriot to go deep this season.
 
Senior Brooke Sullivan collected another two-hit performance in game two to increase her average to .333 on the season. Sullivan also scored three runs over the course of Saturday's games, giving her 23 total and a tie for the team lead.

"Doubleheaders are tough to sweep," head coach Joe Verbanic said. "I thought we played well for the majority of the day, and I love our fight - I never question our fight and ability to come back and give ourselves a chance to win the ball game. When you don't get the timely hit, playing clean gives you a chance to do that. Some days the hits aren't going to fall, it's about good pitching, good defense and timely hitting."

Both game one starter Haellie Gordon and her counterpart, Becca Rogers, kept the bats quiet in the first two innings, including a 1-2-3 inning from both starters to begin the game. URI struck first on the scoreboard with a Rachel Kuhlman home run to lead off the top of the third. Gordon settled down the rest of the inning, retiring the side and closing the inning with a strikeout.
 
The Patriots' response came from an opposite field grand slam from Wells to instantly put Mason in front 4-1. The home run plated Marissa Butts, Jess Curbeira and Liz Seymour, all of whom reached via walk of fielder's choice.
 
Wells made an additional impact in the bottom of the fifth, this time on the base paths. After drawing a walk, the La Crescenta, Calif. stole second, advanced to third on a wild pitch and trotted home on a throwing error to extend the lead to 5-1.
 
After the Rams made the score 5-2 in the top of the sixth, Bekah Ansbro entered the game to attempt a five-out save. The Woodstock, Va. native did the job without surrendering a hit and struck out four to preserve a 5-2 game one win for the Patriots.
 
Ansbro got the ball to start game two and began her outing with an easy first inning. George Mason put the first dent in the scoreboard with a 2-run first inning by taking advantage of three Rhode Island errors.
 
After a scoreless second inning, URI cut the deficit in half in the third via fielder's choice. Both teams went down in order in the fourth to send the game to the fifth with the score favoring Mason 2-1.
 
Gordon was sent back to the circle midway through the top of the fifth, but was unable to strand the inherited runners, leading to a two-run inning that put the Rams up 3-2.
 
Erickson lifted Ansbro off the hook for the loss with a 1-and-0 home run to dead center that tied the game at 3-3. The solo shot was Mason's first extra base hit of the game and gave the squad a clean slate to start the seventh.
 
The Rams did everything they could to avoid extra innings, and answered with a three-run top the seventh to go up 6-3. Mason brought it to 6-4 with an RBI double from Erickson, her first game of multiple extra base hits in 2018, but it was too little, too late. Rhode Island held on to take game two 6-4.
 
NEXT ON THE DIAMOND
 
The Patriots wrap up the opening series with the Rams Sunday afternoon at noon. The weekend finale will be the annual "Go Gold for Tara" game where adopted teammate Tara Sankner, through the Friends of Jaclyn Foundation, will throw out the ceremonial first pitch.