- George Mason defeated East Carolina, 4-3, in thrilling, extra-inning fashion on Saturday night. Freshman Taylor Dadig notched the game-winning RBI sacrifice fly in the bottom of the eighth.
- The Patriots improve to 7-11 this season after splitting the second day of the Mason Invitational.
- Mason rounds out the three-day tournament with one final game against East Carolina at 3:30 p.m. on Sunday.
FINAL: Mason 1, Sacred Heart 5
FINAL: Mason 4, East Carolina 3
FAIRFAX, Va. - The George Mason softball team picked up a thrilling 4-3 win over East Carolina to round out the second day of the Mason Invitational. After senior
Liz Seymour forced extra innings with a two RBI double in the bottom of the seventh, freshman
Taylor Dadig notched her first career RBI with the game-winning sacrifice fly in the bottom of the eighth.
Mason split the second day of competition to improve to 7-11 this season.
Earlier in the day, Mason suffered a 5-1 loss to Sacred Heart. The Pioneers kicked off the scoring with a home run in the top of the first inning. Sacred Heart was able to extend their lead to three after to a two-run, two-hit and two-error third inning. A Sacred Heart batter scored an infield home run due to the unforced errors by the Patriots.
Dadig recorded Mason's first hit of the game in the bottom of the sixth. After she advanced to second on a passed ball, a Sacred Heart error allowed Dadig to score Mason's first and only run.
Ultimately, the Pioneers tacked on two more runs in the top of the seventh to seal the win, 5-1.
Alyssa Lawton recorded her third multi-hit game of the season with two hits while
Marina Vitalich dropped to 2-2 with the loss.
Despite a slow start to Mason's second game of the day, the Patriots put on a show for their seventh win of the season, earning a 4-3 extra-inning victory over East Carolina.
In the bottom of the third, ECU struck first with a three-run home run. However, the Pirates would fail to score another run in the game.
In the bottom of the fifth,
Adriana Erickson and
Marissa Butts drew back-to-back walks. With pitch runners on third and second, Lawton grounded out to leave the runners stranded.
Later in the sixth inning,
Saige Cisler reached based on a fielding error which then was followed by an infield single by
Liz Seymour.
EJ Bankson drew a critical walk to load the bases with one out. The Patriots plated their first run of the game on a fielder's choice for a score of 3-1.
In the bottom of the seventh, it was once again Seymour, stepping up for the Patriots. Down two, the senior blasted a double to right field to score Cisler and
Sydnee Wells. The Patriots forced extra innings with a two-run, two-hit bottom of the seventh.
Extra innings utilized the International Tiebreaker Rule where the last batter of the current inning is placed on the second base with no outs. Pitcher
Bekah Ansbro struck out ECU's final two batters in the top of the eighth, giving Mason the opportunity to win the game.
Erickson put down a bunt to start the inning, moving pinch runner
Kate Owsley to third base. Freshman Dadig stepped up for the Patriots, hitting the game-winning sacrifice fly to centerfield. It marked the first RBI of Dadig's career.
Ansbro picked up the win to improve to 4-4 this season.
UP NEXT
Mason remains at home with a midweek double header against Saint Francis (Pa.) on Wednesday, with first pitch scheduled for 2:30 p.m. at the George Mason Softball Complex.
