BASEBALL vs. Coppin State and Georgetown
WHEN: Tuesday, March 15 (3 p.m.) |Wednesday, March 16 (3 p.m.)
WHERE: Spuhler Field | Fairfax, Va.
RECORDS: George Mason (6-8, 0-0 A-10); Coppin State (4-10, 0-0 MEAC): Georgetown (9-5, 0-0 Big East)
ALL-TIME SERIES: Mason leads Coppin State, 23-1; Mason leads Georgetown, 34-20.
LAST MEETING: The Eagles defeated the Patriots, 5-4, on April 25, 2012 at Bachman Field in Baltimore, Md.; The Hoyas defeated the Patriots, 4-1, on April 3, 2019 at Shirley Povich Field in Bethesda, Md.
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FAIRFAX, Va. – The George Mason baseball team hosts Coppin State on Tuesday and Georgetown on Wednesday at Spuhler Field.  The first pitch for both games is scheduled for 3 p.m.
 
Last time out, Mason (6-8) split a doubleheader against Quinnipiac on Friday.  The Bobcats won the first game, 6-5, while the Patriots notched an 8-4 victory in the night cap.  The final game of the series was canceled.
 
Junior INF/OF South Trimble has a .400 average (22-for-55) with three doubles, seven RBI and 14 runs scored in 13 starts.  He leads the team in hits (22), total bases (25) and stolen bases (12), and is tied for first in runs scored (13).
 
Freshman outfielder Brett Ahalt is batting .366 (15-for-41) with two doubles, one home run, seven RBI and five runs scored in 13 games played.  He is third on the club in hits (15) and tied for third in RBI (7). 
 
Sophomore second baseman Brett Stallings is hitting .320 (16-for-50) with two doubles, eight RBI and nine runs scored in 14 starts.  He is second in the club in hits (16), RBI (8) and stolen bases (9).
 
Freshman catcher Connor Dykstra is hitting .303 (10-for-33) with two home runs, seven RBI and 13 runs scored in 13 starts behind the plate.  He leads the team in home runs (2) and hit by pitch (8) and is tied for the team lead in runs scored (13).
 
The Patriots have a team batting average of .261 through 14 games.
 
On the mound, senior Jared Lyons (2-1, 3.81) leads the club in innings pitched (28.1) and strikeouts (27) in four starts.  Graduate student Danny Hosley (1-1, 4.24) is second on the team in strikeouts (22) and is second in innings pitched (17.0) in three starts.
 
Senior Matthew Henson (1-0, 2.61) leads the team in appearances (7), while classmate Mason Posey (0-1, 9.45) is second in appearances (6) with two starts.  He leads the club in saves (3).    
 
ABOUT THE PATRIOTS
 
Mason has 10 returners and 25 newcomers on the roster heading into the season under Bill Brown, who enters his 41st year as the head coach of the Patriots.
 
The Mason senior class includes pitchers Matthew Henson, Jared Lyons, Hugh O'Hara and Mason Posey, along with infielders Daniel Brooks and Scott Morgan.
 
The junior class includes outfielder Craig Miles, Jr., infielder Brett Stallings, and infielder/outfielder South Trimble.  Sophomore outfielder Jordan Smith returns for his second season with the Green and Gold.
 
The Patriots added 25 new players, with 18 freshman, three sophomores and four graduate students.
 
Rookie pitchers joining the Patriots are Jackson Baird (RHP), Diego Barrett (RHP), Dylan Crowley (LHP), Konner Eaton (LHP), Chad Gartland, (RHP), Jalen Grant (LHP), Danny Hosley (INF/RHP), Thomas Little (LHP), Christian Mracna (RHP), Andrew Schaeb (LHP), Ben Shields (LHP) and Britt Yount (RHP).
 
New position players include Brett Ahalt (INF/OF), Tyler Cotten (C/INF), Connor Dykstra (C), Yogie Hartigan (OF), Alex Knapp (UTL), Carsen Pracht (INF) and Logan Scully (C).
 
The Patriots bring on sophomores Christian Mracna (RHP), Ryan Peterson (LHP), and Stephen Restuccio (RHP).
 
The Patriots also added four graduate student transfers, Danny Hosley (INF/RHP), Chris Ruckdeschel (RHP), Ben Shields (LHP) and Kamron Smith (OF/INF).
 
Mason is scheduled to play 56 games, including 24 against Atlantic 10 Conference rivals, and four opponents that made a NCAA Regional appearance last season.
 
The Patriots played seven games on the road in February, and will play 18 games in March, 19 games in April and 12 contests in May.
 
Mason went 10-13 at home in 2021, including a mark of 7-9 against A-10 opponents.
 
The Patriots play 11 of their first 13 games in March at Spuhler Field.
   
The Patriots are scheduled to play 11 games at home and seven on the road in April.  In the final month of the regular season, Mason will play eight of 12 games on the road in May.
  
The Patriots will play four home-and-home series during the 2022 season, taking on James Madison, Longwood, Maryland and William & Mary for single games at home and on the road.
 
Mason plays eight league series, four at home and four on the road.
 
Home series against A-10 foes include three-game weekend sets against VCU (April 1-3), Saint Louis (April 15-17), Fordham (April 22-24) and George Washington (May 13-15).
 
The Patriots will visit Saint Joseph's (April 8-10), Massachusetts (April 29-May 1), Richmond (May 6-8) and Davidson (May 19-21).
 
SCOUTING COPPIN STATE
 
Coppin State finished the 2021 season with an overall record of 10-29, including a mark of 7-20 against MEAC opponents.  The Eagles went 2-12 at home and 8-17 on the road last season.
 
Coppin State has a record of 4-10 through their first 14 games of the 2022 campaign.  The Eagles are 3-6 at home and 1-4 on the road this season.
 
The Eagles were swept in their first series of the season, 8-1, 6-5, 9-4, at California Baptist (Feb. 18-20) in Riverside, Calif.
 
Coppin State downed Navy, 15-9, on Feb. 23 at Max Bishop Stadium in Annapolis, Md. to account for the lone road win of the season. 
 
The Eagles dropped three of four at home to Saint Peter's (Feb. 25-27) at Bandair Park in Columbia, Md.  After losing game one, 9-4, and both games of a doubleheader, 4-3 and 9-2, the Eagles won the finale, 12-4.
 
Against Cornell at home (Mar. 5-6), the Eagles dropped both games of a doubleheader, 11-7 and 14-5, before claiming the last game of the series, 21-2.
 
Coppin State fell to George Washington, 13-5, on Mar. 9 at Barcroft Park in Washington, D.C.
 
Last Friday, the Eagles split a doubleheader against Albany, winning the first game, 17-10, before falling in the night cap, 15-3.
 
Freshman infielder Josh Hankins is batting .415 (17-for-41) with four doubles, 10 RBI and nine runs scored in 12 games.  He is second on the club in hits (17), RBI (10) and doubles (4), and third in runs scored (9) and stolen bases (4).
 
Senior outfielder Marcos Castillo is hitting .393 (22-for-56) with five doubles, three triples, one home run, 12 RBI and 13 runs scored in 14 games.  He leads the team in hits (22), runs scored (13), doubles (5), triples (3) stolen bases (7) and is tied for first in RBI (12).
 
Sophomore outfielder/pitcher Jordan Hamberg has a .324 average (11-for-34) with three doubles, one home run, eight RBI and 10 runs scored in 11 starts. 
 
Junior outfielder Wellington Balsley is batting .300 (18-for-60) with two triples, nine RBI and 12 runs scored.  He leads the club in hits (18) and is second in runs scored (12) and stolen bases (6).

On the mound, sophomore Tyler Nichol (0-2, 4,42) leads the team in innings pitched (18.1) and strikeouts (23).  Freshman Just Johnson (1-0, 1.35) leads the club in appearances (6) and is fifth in innings pitched (13.1)

SCOUTING GEORGETOWN

Georgetown finished the 2021 season with an overall record of 6-25, including a mark of 6-19 against Big East opponents.  The Hoyas were 5-9 at home and 1-16 on the road last season.

Through 14 games this season, the Hoyas are 9-5 overall with a mark of 4-1 at home and 4-3 on the road.

Georgetown fell to Rider, 6-4, and Wake Forest, 9-1, before defeating Lafayette, 15-8, opening weekend at David Couch Ballpark in Winston-Salem, N.C.

Georgetown have won eight of their last 10 games.

The Hoyas took two-of-three at Norfolk State (Feb. 25-27).  After dropping the first game, 2-1, the Hoyas won the next two, 6-2 and 15-7.  Georgetown then won back-to-back midweek games by identical scores of 9-7, downing UMBC at home (Mar. 1) and Maryland Eastern Shore on the road (Mar. 2).

The Hoyas won two-of-three against Massachusetts (Mar. 4-6) at the Washington Nationals Youth Baseball Academy in Washington, D.C.  After a 9-3 loss in game one, the Hoyas won, 11-8 and 8-7.

The Hoyas also have single-game victories over William & Mary (Mar. 8) on the road, 5-4, and Cornell (Mar. 13) at home, 9-8.

Sophomore infielder Jake Hyde is batting .492 (29-for-59) in 14 games.  He leads the club in hits (29) and doubles (7), and is tied for the team lead in home runs (5).

Junior infielder Andrew Ciufo has a .383 average (18-for-47) in 12 starts.  He is tied for tops on the team in home runs (5), and ranks second on the team in hits (18) and stolen bases (5).

On the mound, graduate student Nolan McCarthy (2-1, 3.32) leads the team in innings pitched (21.2) and strikeouts (32).  Senior Angelo Tonas (0-1, 2.31) leads the Hoyas in appearances (10).

PROBABLE STARTERS

Tuesday
Mason: RHP Danny Hosley (1-1, 4.24)
Coppin State: TBD

Wednesday
Mason: TBD
Georgetown: TBD

STRIKE ZONE

The Patriots have played the Hoyas 54 times and the Eagles 24 times in program history.  Mason is 34-20 all-time against Georgetown, and 23-1 all-time against Coppin State