Box score (PDF)
 
FAIRFAX, Va. – The Patriots hit four home runs and posted a season-highs in both hits and runs in their 15-1 win over Fordham in the final game of the series on Sunday afternoon.
 
The Patriots took two-of-three in the series to improve to 6-6 in Atlantic 10 play.
 
Senior third baseman Daniel Brooks belted a grand slam, graduate student shortstop Danny Hosley smashed a three-run home run, senior designated hitter Scott Morgan hammered a two-run blast and freshman catcher Connor Dykstra hit a solo home run.
 
The Patriots have hit 13 round-trippers in their last 15 games after hitting just eight in their first 23 games of the season.
 
Mason (14-24, 6-6 A-10) took the lead over Fordham (9-27, 4-8 A-10) in the first inning against Rams sophomore starter Brooks Ey.
 
Junior second baseman Brett Stallings led off with an infield single, moved to second on a ground out and scored on a ground out by freshman right fielder Brett Ahalt to put the Patriots in front, 1-0.
 
Mason has scored the first run in seven of the last 10 games.
 
The Patriots then scored 14 runs in a four-inning span from the fourth through the seventh.
 
The Patriots broke the game open in the bottom of the fourth when they sent eight batters to the plate and scored five runs.
 
Ahalt led off with a single and with one out, graduate student left fielder Kamron Smith singled to put runners on first and second.  Dykstra then drove in a run with a single through the left side to make the score 2-0.
 
A single to right field by Morgan loaded the bases and set the table for Brooks.  After fouling off four straight pitches and running the count full, Brooks crushed his first home run of the season, a grand slam over the right field fence to pad the lead to 6-0.
 
In the home half of the fifth, the Patriots again sent eight batters to the plate and added four more runs.
 
Junior first baseman South Trimble and Ahalt led off with back-to-back singles and Hosley followed with his first home run of the season, a three-run blast over the left field fence to increase the Mason advantage to 9-0.
 
A batter later, Dykstra connected for his team-leading fifth home run of the season, a solo blast to left-center to make it 10-0.
 
While the Patriots provided power at the plate, sophomore starter Ryan Peterson was nearly untouchable.  He retired 16 of the first 18 batters he faced in the game and held the Rams to just two hits over the first five innings.
 
Fordham got on the board in the top of the sixth on a solo home run by graduate student center fielder David Kale.
 
Mason tacked on a run in the bottom of the sixth against Rams graduate student reliever Joseph Quintal.  With two outs, Ahalt singled for the third straight at-bat, stole second and raced home on a double by Hosley to extend the lead to 11-1.
 
After the seventh inning stretch, the Patriots sent eight batters to the plate in an inning for the third time in the game and scored the final four runs of the day against Rams freshman reliever Beau Rottmann.
 
Dykstra led off with a double to left field, and Morgan jumped on a 1-1 pitch and left the yard for the third time this season to make the score 13-1. 
 
After an error allowed Brooks to reach second base, Stallings plated a run with a one-out double into the right field corner.  Trimble then singled to put runners on the corners and Ahalt knocked in a run with a single for the 15-1 final.
 
Eight of the nine Patriots in the batting order had at least one hit and scored at least one run.  Seven Patriots had a multi-hit game.
 
For the Patriots, Peterson (2-1) allowed only one run on five hits in 6.0 innings to earn the win.  Hosley tossed 3.0 innings of one-hit ball in relief.
 
For the Rams, Ey (2-6) surrendered 10 runs on 12 hits in 5.0 innings and took the loss.  Quintal gave up one run on two hits in the sixth inning.  Rottmann allowed four runs on five hits in the seventh inning.
 
Ahalt went 4-for-5 with two RBI and three runs scored.  Hosley was 3-for-5 with four RBI and scored a run.  He finished a single shy of the cycle.  Dykstra went 3-for-4 with two RBI and three runs scored.  He finished a triple shy of the cycle. 
 
Brooks was 2-for-5 with a grand slam, four RBI and two runs scored.  Morgan finished 2-for-5 with two RBI and two runs scored.  Stallings and Trimble each had two hits.
 
The Patriots are back on the diamond for a pair of midweek, non-conference games. 
 
Mason hosts Longwood on Tuesday, with the first pitch scheduled for 3 p.m. at Spuhler Field.  The Patriots are on the road against Virginia on Wednesday with the first pitch slated for 6 p.m.