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Championship Central | Photos
 
FAIRFAX, Va. – The Patriots scored five two-out runs in the top of the ninth inning to rally past Rhode Island, 7-3, in the opening round of the 2022 Atlantic 10 Baseball Championship at Wilson Field in Davidson, N.C.
 
Sophomore center fielder Jordan Smith and graduate student third baseman Danny Hosley belted back-to-back home runs in the ninth.  It was the first time this season that the Patriots have connected for back-to-back homers in an inning.
 
Freshman right-hander Chad Gartland tossed four-innings of one-hit ball and struck out seven to earn the win.
 
Mason (23-31) took the lead in the top of the second against Rhode Island (20-34) sophomore starter Sean Sposato.
 
With one out, freshman right fielder Brett Ahalt reached on a throwing error and freshman catcher Connor Dykstra was hit by a pitch.  After both moved up a base on a ground out, freshman shortstop Carsen Pracht singled to center with both runners crossing the plate to put the Patriots in front, 2-0.
 
Mason senior starter Jared Lyons allowed just one hit and two baserunners over the first three innings of the game before Rhode Island evened the score in the bottom of the fourth. 
 
With one out, Rams freshman left fielder Eric Genther was hit by a pitch and freshman third baseman Anthony DePino walked to put runners on first and second.
 
Lyons struck out the next batter, but Rhode Island graduate student catcher Jordan Laske singled in a run to make it a 2-1 game.  Laske stole second, and when there was an error on the throw, DePino raced home to even the score, 2-2.
 
In the bottom of the fifth, Rams junior right fielder Calvin McCall singled and graduate student center fielder Jack Cucinotta walked to start the inning.  The runners moved into scoring position on a sacrifice bunt before the Patriots turned a double play.
 
Genther drew a walk to load the bases and a batter later, Cucinotta scrambled home on a wild pitch to give the Rams the lead, 3-2.
 
Mason came to the plate in the top of the ninth down by a run against Rhode Island senior reliver Ryan Twitchell.
 
Dykstra got the inning started with a single through the left side.  Freshman designated hitter Alex Knapp then came through when he dropped down an important sacrifice bunt on an 0-2 count to move Dykstra into scoring position.
With the Patriots down to their final out, junior first baseman South Trimble tied the game with a single to center, with Dykstra racing around from second and beating the throw to the plate with a head-first slide to make it 3-3.
 
Junior second baseman Brett Stallings then ripped a double into the left field corner, his team-leading 61st hit of the season, with Trimble scoring from second with the eventual game-winning run to complete the comeback and put the Patriots in front, 4-3.
 
The Rams made the call to the bullpen and summoned freshman reliever Bryan Kraus.
 
Mason sophomore center fielder Jordan Smith greeted the new hurler when he jumped on the first pitch he saw and smashed a two-run home run to straightaway center to increase the lead to 6-3. 
 
Mason graduate student Danny Hosley then stepped into the batter's box and belted a solo home run over the left field fence to make it a 7-3 game. 
 
For Smith, it was his second round-tripper of the season and for Hosley, it was his fifth homer of the year.
 
It marked the first time this season that the Patriots have hit back-to-back home runs in a game.  The five runs are the most that the Patriots have scored in the ninth inning this season and tied for the third-most they have plated in any frame this year.
 
For the Patriots, Lyons allowed three runs, two earned, on four hits in 5.0 innings.  Gartland (3-1) gave up just one single and struck out seven in 4.0 innings to earn the win.  He retired the last 11 Rams batters in the game.
 
Every run in the game was scored with two outs.
 
For the Rams, Sposato allowed two unearned runs on five hits in 5.0 innings.  Twitchell (1-5) surrendered three runs on five hits in 3.2 innings and took the loss.  Kraus gave up two runs on two hits and retired on batter in the ninth.
 
Jordan Smith went 2-for-5 with a single and two-run home run, Hosley was 2-for-5 with a single and solo homer, Pracht finished 1-for-3 with two RBI and Dykstra went 2-for-3 with two singles and two runs scored.
 
The fifth-seeded Patriots take on top-seeded Davidson on Wednesday, with the first pitch scheduled for 12 p.m. at Wilson Field.