Box score (PDF)
 
FAIRFAX, Va. – The George Mason baseball team dropped its Saturday afternoon game to William & Mary, 4-1, at Spuhler Field.
 
Mason (1-3) fell behind in the first inning when William & Mary (1-3) plated a pair of runs against graduate student starter Ryan Stoudemire.
 
With one out, Tribe junior outfielder Jack Cone singled and classmate Hunter Hart drew a walk.  Cone came around to score the first run of the game on senior Tyler Solomon's RBI single.  Later in the inning, Hart raced around from second and crossed the plate on a fielder's choice to put William & Mary in front 2-0.

The two teams went scoreless for the next four innings.
 
The Patriots threatened in the bottom of the fifth.  Mason catcher Bailey Klein and second baseman Daniel Brooks both singled to start the inning.  With one out, outfielder Jordan Smith hit a hard grounder just past third base, where Tribe sophomore Ben Williamson made a diving catch and scrambled to his feet to turn an inning-ending double play.
 
In the top of the sixth, Tribe sophomore right fielder Matt Thomas connected for his first career home run, a solo shot to left-center off of Mason freshman Kieran Versaw-Barnes, to make it a 3-0 game.
 
Tribe graduate student starter Wade Strain tossed seven innings of shutout ball and struck out five without a walk.  He gave up six hits, five singles and a double. 
 
The Patriots scored their lone run of the day against Tribe sophomore reliever Matt Howat in the home half of the eighth.
 
With two outs in the inning, outfielder Cam Reckling singled and Scott Morgan followed with a double to the wall in center, with Reckling racing all the way around from first to cut the lead to 3-1.  Morgan is tied for the team lead with three RBI.
 
William & Mary tacked on an insurance run in the top of the ninth against Mason reliever Nick Zegna.  Cone started the inning with a single and moved to third when Hart reached on a fielding error.  Solomon then drove in his second run of the game with a sacrifice fly, with Cone crossing the plate for the second time in the game to make it 4-1.
 
For the Patriots, Stoudemire (0-2) allowed two runs on four hits in 3.2 innings and took the loss.  Versaw-Barnes gave up a run on four hits and struck out three over 4.1 innings in his collegiate debut.  Zegna surrendered a run on one hit in the ninth inning.
 
For the Tribe, Strain (1-1) pitched seven scoreless and struck out five to earn the win.  Howat pitched the last two innings and picked up his first career save.
 
Mason outfielder Thomas Trinca, Brooks and Reckling each had two hits in the game.
 
The Patriots are back on the diamond on Friday, March 12 when they host UMBC at Spuhler Field.  The first pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m.