- Mason split Saturday's doubleheader against UMass to move to 22-26 overall and 10-12 in Atlantic 10 play.
- The Patriots recorded a season-high 15 hits to claim game one, 6-5. Marina Vitalich surpassed 500 career strikeouts in the contest to earn her 10th win of the season.
- Mason hosts Senior Day at noon on Sunday. Liz Seymour, Jess Curbeira and Victoria Webster will be honored prior to first pitch.
FINAL: Mason 6, UMass 5 (PDF Box Score)
FINAL: Mason 1, UMass 4 (PDF Box Score)
FAIRFAX, Va. – The George Mason softball team split Saturday's doubleheader with UMass to move to 22-26 overall and 10-12 in Atlantic 10 play. The Patriots recorded a season-high 15 hits to claim game one, 6-5. Pitcher
Marina Vitalich surpassed 500 career strikeouts in the contest to earn her 10th win of the season. Mason notched its first win over UMasss since 2015.
The Minutewomen evened the series with a 4-1 win in game two. Mason will conclude the regular season with the rubber match at noon Sunday. Seniors
Liz Seymour,
Jess Curbeira and
Victoria Webster will be honored prior to first pitch.
Mason's all-time strikeout leader, Vitalich, reached another milestone in game one of the twin bill. Heading into the contest, the redshirt junior was just three strikeouts away from 500 in her career. She finished the game with four strikeouts in five innings of work for her 10th win of the year. Sophomore
Haellie Gordon picked up her second save of the season, providing 2.0 innings of work to close out the game.
Offensively,
Adriana Erickson,
Alyssa Lawton and Seymour all tabbed three hits in the contest. Erickson also drove in three runs for the Patriots, including a two RBI single in the fourth inning. In the leadoff spot,
Meghan Graham notched two hits, one RBI and three runs.
An explosive third inning for the Patriots allowed them to take a 2-1 lead. After a leadoff double by Graham, Erickson doubled to right center to drive in the run. Curbeira also stepped up with a RBI single in the inning.
Later in the contest, the Patriots used five hits to plate three runs in the fourth frame. Graham hit a RBI single while Erickson brought in two runs with a single up the middle. Despite a three-run homer by the Minutewomen in the fifth, Seymour added on an insurance run in the sixth inning with a RBI single. The run proved to be crucial as UMass scored one final run in the seventh. Gordon was able to record the final out for the 6-5 win.
Game two of the doubleheader was a pitching duel between
Bekah Ansbro and UMass' Kiara Oliver. The two retired the first 14 batters of the game. UMass broke through the deadlock with three runs in the top of the fourth inning. Mason responded with a run of its own in the bottom of the frame. After loading the bases,
Marissa Butts hit an infield single to bring home Erickson.
The Minutewomen tacked on another run in the fifth inning to go on to win, 4-1. Ansbro recorded the loss to drop to 8-11 on the season.
Mason will finish the regular season with the series finale against UMass on Sunday. With expected inclement weather, stay up to date on Mason softball social media for game updates.
