• Freshman designated hitter Lyle Miller-Green went 4-for-5 and hit his first collegiate home run.
• Freshman outfielder Craig Miles, Jr. was 4-for-5 and hit his first collegiate home run.
• Sophomore Peter Nielsen finished 2-for-5 and hit his first collegiate home run.

Box score (PDF)

RADFORD, Va. – The George Mason baseball team finished with 14 hits and belted a season-high five home runs, but fell short in a slug fest against Radford, 14-9, at Carter Memorial Stadium in Radford, Va.

Mason (1-13) fell behind in the bottom of the first when Radford (9-7) scored three runs on three hits against Patriots sophomore starter Nate Young.

Radford junior outfielder Garrett Matheny was hit by a pitch to start the inning and sophomore infielder David Bryant followed with a single. 

After a sacrifice bunt moved the runners into scoring position, senior first baseman J.D. Mundy doubled down the left field line to put Radford in front 2-0.  Senior Colby Higgerson, last week's Big South Player of the Week, then drove in Mundy with a single up the middle to increase the lead to 3-0.

The Patriots responded with two outs in the top of the second against Radford sophomore starter Brandon Feathers.

Senior infielder Peter Nielsen kept the inning going with a single to right field.  Junior Daniel Brooks then jumped on a two-two pitch and smashed his first home run of the season, a two-run blast over the right field fence to make it a 3-2 game.

In the bottom of the second, the Highlanders loaded the bases on two hit batsmen and a walk, but Young got out of the jam with a strikeout to end the inning with no damage.

Mason freshman outfielder Craig Miles, Jr. led off the top of the third and jumped on the first pitch he saw and hit his first collegiate home run to right-center to tie the game, 3-3.

The Highlanders sent eight batters to the plate and scored four runs on five hits to re-claim the lead in the third.

After Young retired the first two batters of the inning, the next five Highlander batters each recorded a hit.  Junior infielder Will Harless started the rally with a triple off the wall in left-center and junior designated hitter Austin Kaplan drove in a run with a single to left to make the score 4-3.

Senior outfielder Adam Whitacre singled to put runners on the corners and junior Sean Cheely followed with a RBI-single to increase the advantage to 5-3.

The Patriots made the call to the bullpen and summoned junior reliever Thomas Bradley.

Matheny tripled to right-center, with Mason junior Jackson Barrett nearly coming up with a highlight reel catch.  Two runs scored on the play to make it a 7-3 game.

In the top of the fifth, Miles and freshman designated hitter Lyle Miller-Green hit back-to-back one-out singles before the Highlanders made a pitching change, with sophomore reliever Derek Domecq taking over on the mound.

Mason junior first baseman Scott Morgan fell behind in the count, 0-2, before crushing his team-leading fourth home run of the season, a three-run homer over the right field fence to put the Patriots to within a run, 7-6.

Morgan leads the team with 12 RBI in 10 games played.

The Highlanders sent nine batters to the plate in the bottom of the sixth and scored five runs on four hits against Bradley, sophomore Nick Zegna and junior Michael Yuille to build a 12-6 lead.

The Patriots got two back in the top of the seventh.

Miles started the inning with a single and Miller-Green belted his first NCAA home run, a two-run shot over the right-center field fence to make it 12-8.

After the Highlanders added a run in the home half of the seventh and Nielsen led off the eighth with his first collegiate home run to pull the Patriots closer at 13-9.

Radford scored a run in the eighth for the 14-9 final score.

Young (0-1) allowed seven runs on seven hits in 2.2 innings and took the loss.  Bradley was charged with two runs on two hits in 2.1 innings.  Zegna surrendered three runs, one earned, on three hits in two-thirds of an inning.  Yuille gave up two runs on three hits in 2.1 innings of work for the Patriots.

Feathers allowed five runs on eight hits in 4.1 innings in a no-decision for the Highlanders.  Domecq (2-1) gave up three runs on three hits in 1.2 innings to earn the win.  Sophomore closer Bruce Hudson tossed 1.1 scoreless innings to pick up his fourth save of the season.

Miles went 4-for-5 with his first career home run and three runs scored.  Miller-Green was 4-for-5 with his first collegiate home run, two RBI and two runs scored. 

Morgan finished 2-for-5 and hit his team-leading fourth home run.  Brooks went 1-for-2 and reached base three times, including his first home run of the season.

The Highlanders scored 14 runs on 15 hits, while the Patriots scored nine runs on 14 hits. 

The top four batters in the order for the Patriots combined to go 10-for-20 with two home runs, six RBI and six runs scored.  All nine Mason runs in the game were scored on home runs.

Every player in the lineup for Radford reached base at least once and either drove in a run or scored a run.  The Highlanders scored nine of their 14 runs with two outs.

The Patriots are back in action on Wednesday against Virginia Tech with the first pitch scheduled for 4 p.m. at English Field in Blacksburg, Va.