Box Score
Box score
FAIRFAX, Va. – The George Mason baseball team won its fifth straight home game, defeating UMBC 11-4 on Wednesday afternoon at Spuhler Field in Fairfax, Va.
Mason (11-12, 3-0 A-10) took the lead in the first inning against UMBC (5-14, 2-1 America East) starter Cameron Taylor.
Junior
Brady Acker led off with a walk and graduate student
Frank Sturek followed with a single to left field. Sophomore
Logan Driscoll drove in Acker with the first run of the game with a single through the right side and Sturek scored on a groundout to put Mason in front 2-0.
In the second inning, senior
Michael Smith doubled and scored when junior
Alejandro Aponte singled to center to increase the lead to 3-0.
Freshman right-hander
James Price made his first collegiate start and retired the first nine batters he faced in the game.
The Retrievers dented the scoreboard in the fourth inning. Senior Matt Campbell led off with a walk and advanced to second on a wild pitch. With one out, senior Zach Bright doubled to right field to drive in Campbell to cut the Mason lead to 3-1.
The Patriots responded with two runs in the home half of the fourth, with Acker driving in a run with a single and Aponte knocking in his second run of the game with a double to make the score 5-1.
Mason loaded the bases in the fifth against UMBC reliever Colton Hower before Acker forced in a run with a walk to extend to the advantage to 6-1.
In the sixth, senior
Trevor Kelly doubled to left field and scored when junior
Tim Quinn singled to right with two outs to make it a 7-1 game.
The Patriots sent eight batters to the plate in the seventh inning and scored four more runs on three hits to increase the lead to 11-1.
Logan Driscoll knocked in a pair of runs with a double, while Kelly drove in a run with a sacrifice fly in the inning.
The Retrievers scored three runs on five hits in the top of the eighth against Mason freshman
Daniel Brooks for the final runs of the game.
The Patriots improved to 9-2 at home this season and have equaled their home win total from the 2017 season when they finished with a record of 9-20 at Spuhler Field.
Price (1-0) allowed one run on one hit over 4.0 innings to earn his first NCAA victory. Freshman
Michael Yuille pitched two scoreless innings, while classmate
Ryan Miles tossed one scoreless frame. Senior
Garett Driscoll struck out the side in the ninth to end the game.
The Patriots had a season-high 17 hits in the game. Every player in the starting lineup recorded at least one hit, while eight players scored at least one run for Mason.
Aponte went 3-for-4 with a two singles, a double, two RBI and two runs scored, while Smith was 3-for-4 with a single and a double and scored two runs.
Logan Driscoll finished 2-for-5 with three RBI, Acker went 2-for-2 with two walks and two RBI and Sturek was 2-for-4 with two runs scored.
The Patriots begin a three-game Atlantic 10 series against Richmond on Friday with the first pitch scheduled for 3 p.m. at Spuhler Field.
