Box score (PDF)

FAIRFAX, Va. –  The George Mason baseball team was held to two hits and dropped its third straight game to Iona College, 6-0, on Sunday afternoon at Spuhler Field in Fairfax, Va.
 
Mason (0-9) and Iona (3-7) were scoreless through the first four innings.
 
The Gaels took the lead in the top of the fifth against Mason sophomore starter Patrick Halligan. 
 
Iona junior outfielder Ryan Casey singled and sophomore infielder Jake Liberatore followed with a RBI double to left-center to put the Gaels in front, 1-0.  After a walk, sophomore infielder Jake Field drove in a run with a single up the middle, with Liberatore racing home to make it 2-0.
 
Junior starting pitcher Vicente Mendoza, who made his first start of the season, drove in the third run of the inning with a groundout to the shortstop.
 
Iona plated a run in the seventh on a RBI single and added two more in the ninth on a two-run double by senior outfielder Brian Picone for the 6-0 final.
 
Mendoza and freshman Zach Grace combined on the two-hitter and faced a total of 28 Mason batters, one over the minimum.
 
Mason freshman designed hitter Lyle Miller-Green and sophomore Peter Nielsen each singled to account for Mason's only hits in the game.
 
Halligan (0-1) allowed three runs on eight hits and struck out five in 4.2 innings and took the loss.  Sophomore Nick Zegna gave up one run on three hits in 2.0 innings.  Junior Austin Cabone retired the three batters he faced in the seventh and Miller-Green surrendered two runs, one earned, on two hits in the ninth.
 
Mendoza (1-0) scattered two singles over 6.0 innings to earn the win, while Grace retired the nine Patriots he faced over the last three innings.
 
Iona scored six runs on 16 hits and left 16 runners on base in the game. 
 
The Patriots are back in action against William & Mary on Wednesday with the first pitch scheduled for 4 p.m. in Williamsburg, Va.