• Senior starter Brian Marconi went 7.1 innings and threw a season-high 121 pitches.
• Senior first baseman Tim Quinn drove in both runs for the Patriots.
• Senior shortstop Alejandro Aponte played his 200th career game.

Box score (PDF)

FAIRFAX, Va. – The George Mason baseball team fell to VCU in the middle game of the series, 3-2, on Friday afternoon at Spuhler Field in Fairfax, Va.

The Patriots (19-34, 5-18 A-10) fell behind VCU (38-17, 18-5 A-10) when the Rams plated a run in the top of the first inning against Mason senior starter Brian Marconi.

VCU junior second baseman Paul Witt knocked in the first run of the game with a two-out single to put the Rams in front 1-0. 

In the top of the second, VCU junior left fielder Brandon Hanson led off with a walk and junior first baseman Steven Carpenter followed with a single.  The runners advanced on a sacrifice bunt and sophomore right fielder Jack Schroeder drove in Hanson from third with a sacrifice fly to make it a 2-0 game.

The Patriots evened the score in the bottom of the third against Rams starter Jack Alkire. 

Mason senior shortstop Alejandro Aponte and junior catcher Logan Driscoll each singled, while senior center fielder Brady Acker reached on a fielding error to load the bases with one out.  Mason senior first baseman Tim Quinn then delivered a two-run single to right field to tie the game 2-2.

Aponte played in his 200th career game, becoming one of 12 players in program history to reach the milestone.

In the top of the fourth, the Rams used three straight walks to load the bases with only one out.  Sophomore center fielder Hogan Brown grounded into a fielder's choice, with the go-ahead run crossing the plate to give VCU a 3-2 lead.

That would be the final run of the game, with each team held off the scoreboard over the final five innings.

Marconi, making the 51st start of his career, kept the Patriots within striking distance.  He retired 11 of the final 13 VCU batters he faced in the outing from the fourth through the eighth inning.   

Marconi finishes his career among Mason's all-time pitching leaders.  Marconi is first in program history in starts (51), fourth in innings pitched (284.1), tied for ninth in wins (16) and tied for 12th in appearances (56).

With runners on first and second and one out in the top of the eighth for the Rams, the Patriots made the call to the bullpen and freshman Stuart Barrett took over on the mound. 

Mason put two runners on base in both the fifth and sixth inning against VCU senior reliever Curtis Bafus, but came away empty.  Each team left seven runners on base in the game.

With the win, VCU clinched the 2019 Atlantic 10 Regular Season Championship and earned the top seed in next week's A-10 Championship Tournament in Bronx, N.Y.

Marconi (3-8) allowed three runs on five hits and struck out five over 7.1 innings and took the loss.  He threw a season-high 121 pitches in the game.  Barrett tossed 1.2 scoreless innings with two strikeouts in his 21st appearance of the season.

Alkire surrendered two runs on four hits over 4.0 innings and struck out three in a no-decision for the Rams.  Bafus (3-2) tossed 2.0 scoreless innings to earn the win, while senior Benjamin Dum retired all nine batters he faced over the final 3.0 innings to pick up his fourth save of the season.

Quinn went 1-for-4 with two RBI, while Driscoll and Aponte each had a hit and scored a run for the Patriots.

The Patriots and Rams wrap up the series on Saturday with the first pitch scheduled for 2 p.m. on Senior Day at Spuhler Field.