• Junior starter Jared DiCesare tossed his second straight complete game in game one.
• Sophomore outfielder Cam Reckling hit his third home run of the season in game one.
• Freshman starter Jared Lyons went a career-high six innings with career-best six strikeouts in game two.

Game One Box score (PDF)
Game Two Box score (PDF)

FAIRFAX, Va. – The George Mason baseball team split a doubleheader against Fordham, winning game one, 3-2, before dropping the nightcap, 2-1, on Saturday afternoon at Spuhler Field.

In game one, Mason (19-28, 5-13 A-10) fell behind Fordham (29-21, 10-8 A-10) when the Rams plated a pair of runs in the top of the first against Mason junior starter Jared DiCesare.

Rams sophomore second baseman C.J. Vazquez led off with a double to right-center on the first pitch of the game and scored when junior right fielder Alvin Melendez doubled off the wall in left field.

With one out, junior third baseman Matt Tarabek doubled to left field, with Melendez crossing the plate to increase the lead to 2-0.

The Patriots responded in the bottom of the first inning against Fordham sophomore starter John Stankiewicz.

Mason sophomore outfielder Cam Reckling led off with a walk and junior catcher Logan Driscoll singled through the right side.  Melendez over-ran the ball, allowing Reckling to score all the way from first and Driscoll found his way to third.

A batter later, Mason senior first baseman Tim Quinn drove in Driscoll with a groundout to tie the game 2-2.

The game turned into a pitcher's duel, with DiCesare and Stankiewicz keeping the opposition off the scoreboard over the next six innings.

The Patriots also flashed the leather in the game. 

Reckling robbed Rams junior outfielder Billy Godrick of an extra-base hit when he raced to the wall in left-center to make a fantastic running catch.  Senior shortstop Alejandro Aponte took a hit away from Rams sophomore infielder Jake MacKenzie with a strong throw across the diamond from deep at short for the out.

The Patriots got the big hit with two outs in the home half of the eighth inning.  Reckling belted his third home run of the season, a solo shot over the left field fence that propelled the Patriots to a 3-2 win.

DiCesare (4-5) tossed his fourth career complete game.  He allowed two runs on seven hits with seven strikeouts and just one walk to win his third consecutive start.

Stankiewicz (6-3) also pitched a complete game, allowing three runs, two earned, on four hits with nine strikeouts and two walks in the loss.

Reckling went 1-for-3 with a home run and two runs scored, while Quinn was 1-for-3 and drove in a run.

In game two, Fordham loaded the bases in each of the first two innings and jumped out to a 2-0 lead with single runs in each against Mason freshman starter Jared Lyons.

Rams freshman designated hitter Jason Coules drove in a run with a single to center in the first to put Fordham in front 1-0.  With the bases loaded in the second, Tarabek was hit by a pitch to force in a run to make the score 2-0.

The Patriots made it a one-run game in the bottom of the fourth against Fordham senior starter Anthony DiMeglio.

With one out, junior right fielder Bailey Klein grounded to third, but the throw was off-line and allowed Klein to advance to second on the error.  Senior third baseman Greg Popatak II then delivered with a RBI-single to right field to cut the lead to 2-1.

After allowing five hits in the first two innings, Lyons didn't allow a hit over the next four frames.  Mason freshman reliever Stuart Barrett retired all nine batters that he faced in the game.

Lyons (0-3) allowed two runs on five hits with six strikeouts and four walks over 6.0 innings and took the loss.  Barrett didn't allow a hit and struck out four of the nine batters he faced in 3.0 innings of work.

DiMeglio (4-3) gave up one run on three hits with nine strikeouts and two walks in 7.0 innings to earn the win.  Junior Kyle Martin tossed two scoreless innings with five strikeouts to pick up his eighth save of the season for the Rams.

Driscoll went 2-for-4, while Klein, Popatak and Aponte each had one hit in the game.

The Patriots play their final midweek game of the season on Tuesday, hosting James Madison with the first pitch scheduled for 3 p.m. at Spuhler Field.