• Junior first baseman Scott Morgan went 2-for-5 with a double, home run and two RBI.
• Redshirt sophomore Peter Nielsen was 3-for-4 with three singles and scored a run.
• Graduate student infielder Cooper Mrowka finished 2-for-4 with a walk and two runs scored.

Box score (PDF)

LEXINGTON, S.C. – The George Mason baseball team fell to Butler, 15-8, on Saturday afternoon at Lexington County Stadium in Lexington, S.C.

Mason (0-2) took the lead over Butler (2-0) in the top of the first inning against Bulldog junior starting pitcher Joe Graziano. 

Mason junior outfielder Cam Reckling led off the game with a single through the left side.  After back-to-back walks to sophomore Peter Nielsen and freshman Lyle Miller-Green loaded the bases, senior Bailey Klein drove in Reckling from third with a ground out to put the Patriots in front 1-0.

The Bulldogs took advantage of two walks by Patriots sophomore starter Mason Posey in the bottom of the second to take a 2-1 lead.

Butler loaded the bases in the third before senior infielder Andy McGrath walked to force in a run to make the score 3-1.

In the top of the fourth, Mason graduate student Cooper Mrowka walked, junior first baseman Scott Morgan doubled and junior catcher Devon Adams walked to load the bases. 

After a pitching change by the Bulldogs, graduate student outfielder Jack DeLongchamps jumped on the first pitch he saw from sophomore reliever John MacCauley and cleared the bases with a triple to center to give the Patriots a 4-3 advantage.

The Bulldogs answered with three runs on two hits, a walk, a hit batsman and a Mason error in the bottom of the fourth against Posey and Mason sophomore reliever Stuart Barrett to reclaim the lead at 6-4. 

Butler turned a walk by freshman infielder Jonah Wichman into a run in the fifth.  Junior outfielder Nick Ortega doubled down the left field line to put runners on second and third with one out.  Junior James Gargano drove in Wichman from third with a sacrifice fly to make it a 7-4 game.

In the top of the sixth, Mrowka legged out an infield single and Morgan followed when he jumped on the first pitch he saw and hit a towering home run over the right field fence to make it a one-run game at 7-6.

The Bulldogs scored a run in the sixth, three in the seventh and sent 10 batters to the plate and scored four more in the eighth to break the game open at 15-6.

The Patriots loaded the bases in the ninth against Butler sophomore left-hander Nick Eaton.  Klein and junior second baseman Daniel Brooks each drove in a run in the inning to account for the final two runs of the game in the 15-8 final.

Posey (0-1) allowed six earned runs on four hits with four walks and five strikeouts in 3.1 innings in his first start of the season.  Barrett gave up two earned runs on one hit with three walks and one strikeout over 1.2 innings.

Miller Green, who began and ended the game as the designated hitter, surrendered four runs, one earned, on four hits with three walks and three strikeouts in 2.1 innings in his collegiate pitching debut.  Sophomore Hugh O'Hara allowed three earned runs on three hits with two walks and a strikeout in two-thirds of an inning of work.

Graziano allowed four earned runs on four hits with four walks and two strikeouts in 3.2 innings in a no-decision for the Bulldogs.  MacCauley (1-0) gave up two earned runs on three hits in 2.1 innings of work to earn the win.

Every player in the starting lineup for both clubs reached base at least once in the game.  Butler scored at least one run in every inning except the first and improved to 5-0 all-time against the Patriots, with all five games played in Lexington, S.C.

Six of the 12 players that walked for Butler in the game came around to score.  The Bulldogs scored 15 runs on 11 hits, while the Patriots plated eight runs on 12 hits in the game.

For the Patriots, Morgan went 2-for-5 with a double and two-run home run, Reckling was 2-for-5 with two runs scored and Mrowka finished 2-for-4 with a pair of singles and scored two runs.

DeLongchamps tripled and drove in three runs and Klein knocked in two runs for the Patriots.

The Patriots are back on the diamond against Butler on Sunday at Lexington County Stadium in Lexington, S.C.  First pitch is scheduled for 11 a.m.