Longwood (21-20, 14-4 Big South) vs. Mason (17-19, 6-8 A-10)
WHEN: April 20, 2022
WHERE: Fairfax, Va. | George Mason Softball Complex
LIVE STATS: Click Here
LIVE STREAM: Click Here (Game 1)
LIVE STREAM: Click Here (Game 2)
GAME NOTES: Click Here (PDF)
 
FAIRFAX, Va. - The George Mason softball team will host Longwood on Wednesday April 20^th for a midweek matchup.
 
A LOOK AT THE PATRIOTS

Mason is coming off a strong week of play, recording a 3-1 record, including the weekend spilt with George Washington.
 
Game one of the weekend was truly a pitcher's duel with there being a combined six hits that were not given up until late in the game. Senior Taylor Dadig and juniors Haley Taormina, Rachel Warrens, and Maddy Myers all recorded hits for the Patriots. Taormina recorded the one Mason run of the game.
 
Game two was better offensively for both teams, forcing extra innings for the Patriots to come away with the win. Dadig went 2-for-4 at the plate to record her 100^th career hit. Redshirt sophomore Nicole Bechtel went 1-for-4 at the plate with her hit being an RBI. Sophomore Sydney Bales went 1-for-3 at the plate. Taormina went a perfect 2-for-2 at the plate, scoring two runs as she slammed the game winning solo home run for Mason.

Graduate student Cheyenne Van Pelt earned the start and the loss in the first game. Van Pelt only allowed two hits along with five strikeouts. Sophomore Carly Cooper earned the start in the first game before being relieved by freshman Jordan Anderson after 3.1 innings. Anderson pitched the rest of the game and earned her second win of the week.


SCOUTING THE OPPONENT

Longwood, 2022 record: 21-20, 14-4 Big South

Longwood ended their 2021 season with an overall record of 26-28, 14-7 in the conference. The Lancers, who earned their spot in the Big South Championship tournament, ended their season with a loss to USC Upstate and Radford.

Longwood is led by freshman Jaden Pone. Pone currently leads the team in batting average, recording a 0.384 mark so far this season. The infielder has tallied 48 hits, three doubles, two triples, and seven RBI's in 125 at-bats.
 
From the bullpen, the Lancers are led by graduate student Sydney Backstrom, who has appeared in 29 games thus far in the 2022 season, tallying a record of 15-9. Backstrom has tallied an ERA of 1.95 after 150.2 innings pitched, giving up 89 hits, 58 runs, 64 walks, 12 doubles, five triples, and 12 home runs.
 
Longwood holds the advantage over Mason, leading the all-time series 0-2, with the last meeting between the two teams occurring in the 2013 season.