Box Score (PDF)

FAIRFAX, Va. – George Mason freshman center fielder Jordan Smith and sophomore left fielder South Trimble each had three hits to help power the Patriots past St. Bonaventure, 9-6, in the series opener on Friday afternoon at Spuhler Field.
 
St. Bonaventure (0-6, 0-0 A-10) took the lead in the first inning against Mason (5-11, 0-0 A-10) junior starter Jared Lyons.
 
With one out, the Bonnies put runners on first and third with a single and a double.  Junior first baseman Matthew Williams then drove in the first run of the game with a ground out for a 1-0 lead.
 
The Patriots took the lead for good in the bottom of the second with three two-out runs against St. Bonaventure junior starter Liam Devine.
 
With one out, Mason graduate student catcher Kyle Hayes walked and senior second baseman Daniel Brooks singled.  After a fly out, Smith drove in two runs with a double to the gap in left-center, to put the Patriots in front 2-1.
 
Trimble kept the inning going with an infield single and senior right fielder Cam Reckling followed with a walk to load the bases.  Senior designated hitter Scott Morgan forced in a run when he was hit by a pitch to increase the lead to 3-1.
 
St. Bonaventure got a run back in the top of the third on a RBI-groundout by freshman designated hitter Pierce Hendershot to make it a 3-2 game.
 
The Patriots responded in the home half of the third.
 
Junior third baseman Peter Nielsen led off with a walk and moved to second on a wild pitch.  With one out, Brooks singled to right, with Nielsen racing home to increase the Mason lead to 4-2.
 
The Bonnies made the call to the bullpen and brought in freshman Kyle Caringi.  He was greeted by Mason sophomore shortstop Brett Stallings and Smith, who both singled to load the bases.  Brooks would race home from third on a fielding error, and Reckling smashed a two-run single through the right side to extend the advantage to 7-2.
 
In the top of the fifth, Hendershot knocked in a run with a triple and senior second baseman Kevin Higgins drove in a run with a single to make the score 7-4.
 
Mason junior Nick Zegna took over on the mound for the start of the sixth and retired the side in order.
 
In the top of the seventh, Williams hit a solo home run to lead off the inning to make it 7-5.

The Patriots took advantage of three wild pitches and an error in the bottom of the seventh to plate a pair of insurance runs. 
 
Stallings led off with a single to center and advanced to second on a wild pitch.  Smith walked, with Stallings moving to third on another wild pitch.  After Trimble lined out to second, Stallings scored on a throwing error to make it 8-5. 
 
Smith went to third on a wild pitch and scored on Reckling's sacrifice fly to add to the Mason lead, 9-5.
 
The Bonnies scored a two-out run in the eighth for their final run on the game.   
  
For the Patriots, Lyons (2-1) allowed four runs on 10 hits and struck out five in 5.0 innings to earn the win.  Zegna gave up two runs on four hits and went four innings to pick up his first save of the season.  He struck out five and walked just one.
 
For the Bonnies, Devine allowed five runs on five hits in 2.1 innings and took the loss.  Caringi surrendered four runs on eight hits in 4.2 innings.  Freshman Luke Lashutka tossed one scoreless inning.
 
Smith went 3-for-3 with two RBI, a stolen base and scored three runs.  Trimble was 3-for-3 and drove in a run.  Brooks and Stallings each had two hits and scored two runs.
 
The Patriots and Bonnies will play a doubleheader on Saturday, April 3, with the first pitch for game one scheduled for 12 p.m. at Spuhler Field.