Rafael Suanes/George Mason Univ.

Mason Softball Travels to DeLand, Fla. to Open Season

Softball 2/5/2020 9:05:00 AM

WHEN: February 7-9, 2020
WHERE: DeLand, Fla. | Patricia Wilson Field (Stetson University)
OPPONENTS: Sam Houston State, Feb. 7 at 10 a.m.; Stetson, Feb. 7 at 5 p.m.; Boston University, Feb. 8 at 10 a.m.; Sam Houston State, Feb. 8 at noon; Stetson, Feb. 9 at noon.
LIVE STATS
LIVE STREAM ($)
TOURNAMENT CENTRAL

FAIRFAX, Va. - The George Mason softball team will open the 2020 season at the Stetson Lead-Off Classic in DeLand, Fla. from Feb. 7-9. Boston University, Sam Houston State and Stetson comprise the bracket, along with the Patriots. The tournament is hosted by Stetson University at Patricia Wilson Field.

Two of the five 2019 NCAA Regional Tournament teams Mason will face this season will be be present down in DeLand, Fla. (Boston and Sam Houston State).

FAMILIAR TERRITORY
The Patriots will open the softball season in Florida for the sixth straight season.

Last season, Mason began the campaign with 10 straight contests in Florida, going 3-5 to start the season (two games canceled). The Green & Gold participated in the Friends of Jaclyn Tournament (Orlando, Fla.) from Feb. 8-10 and the Madeira Beach tournament (Madeira Beach, Fla.) from Feb. 15-17.

THE 2020 PATRIOTS
Mason returns 16 letter winners to their roster, including junior infielder Amelia Ely who transferred in from the University of Albany.

The Patriots retain the entirety of their pitching staff, led by redshirt senior Marina Vitalich, graduate student Bekah Ansbro and junior Haellie Gordon. Vitalich and Ansbro are both in the top five in Mason history for all-time strikeouts, along with earning the top two spots in career saves.

2019 RECAP
The Patriots finished the 2019 season with an overall record of 22-26, 10-12 record in Atlantic 10 play. Mason's pitching reached two all-time marks last season, cracking the top three in single-season team saves (4) and the tied for the second most total strikeouts in a season (237).

Ansbro tossed her first career no-hitter in a 1-0 winning effort vs. Lafayette on March 9, while Vitalich currently sits atop the list of all-time strikeout leaders in George Mason history with 501 strikeouts, recording her 500th career strikeout in a victory over Massachusetts on May 4, 2019.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
Boston University, 2019 record: 37-20, 15-2 Patriot League
Boston, who has won back-to-back Patriot League Championships, went to the 2019 NCAA Regional Tournament. In the tournament, the Terriers went 0-2 falling to then-No. 8 overall Florida and Stanford.

Boston is led by junior Ali DuBois. DuBois, a two-time Patriot League Pitcher of the Year recipient, has been recently named to the 2020 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Top 50 Watch List. DuBois and the Terriers were picked to win the Patriot League for a third consecutive season in the Patriot League Preseason Poll.

Sam Houston St., 2019 record: 35-23, 22-5 SLC
The Bearkats, the defending regular season and conference champions in the Southland Conference, competed in the 2019 NCAA Regional Tournament as well. Sam Houston St. won their first contest versus Texas in the bracket, but dropped the following two.

The Bearkats are led by the senior duo Tiffany Thompson and Megan McDonald, who both earned preseason All-SLC first team honors. Thompson hit .330 in conference play with three home runs and was fourth in the SLC in triples (2) in 2019.

McDonald was fifth in conference play in batting average (.389), tied for first in triples (3) and second in hits (35) last season.

Stetson, 2019 record: 16-31, 5-15 ASUN
The Hatters finished the 2019 season seventh in the ASUN Conference and failed to make the conference tournament.

Stetson is led by senior pair Blake Crews and Elizabeth Jackson who both earned a spot in the preseason All-Conference team.

Crews started all 47 games behind the plate for the Hatters and led the ASUN with 15 runners caught stealing.

Jackson led Stetson with 50 hits, 26 runs scored and an OBP of .413 in 2019. She batted .338 with a double and 12 runs batted in while starting all 47 games in left field.

Print Friendly Version