Box score (PDF)
 
HARRISONBURG, Va. – The George Mason baseball team dropped its first midweek game of the season at James Madison, 10-2, on Tuesday at Veterans Memorial Park in Harrisonburg, Va.
 
Mason (2-2) fell behind in the bottom of the first inning when James Madison (1-3) sent eight batters to the plate against Patriots freshman starter Connor Knox.
 
The first four Dukes batters of the game reached base. 
 
After a leadoff double, a walk and a wild pitch put runners on the corners, James Madison sophomore left fielder Fenwick Trimble plated a run with a single to put the Dukes in front, 1-0.
 
The Dukes then loaded the bases on an error before junior first baseman Jacob Steinburg drove in a run with a double play groundout to make it 2-0.
 
After the second walk of the inning, Dukes sophomore right fielder Grant Painter tripled off the wall in left field to increase the lead to 4-0.
 
James Madison added two runs in third on a solo home run and RBI single to extend the advantage to 6-0.
 
In the home half of the fourth, Steinberg had the big hit with a two-run homer to make it 8-0.
 
James Madison added a run in the bottom of the fifth when Painter led off with a double, moved to third on an error and raced home on a passed ball.
 
In the eighth, after a one-out triple by senior center fielder Trevon Dabney, Steinburg drove in his third run of the game with a single to center to pad the lead to 10-0.
 
The Patriots loaded the bases and dented the scoreboard in the top of the ninth.
 
Sophomore center fielder Jordan Smith led off with a ground rule double that bounced over the wall in center.  With one out, freshman left fielder James Quinn-Irons reached on a fielding error and freshman third baseman Evan Blanchard singled to put a Patriot at every base.
 
Senior second baseman Brett Stallings reached on an error, with both Jordan Smith and Quinn-Irons scoring on the play for the 10-2 final score.
 
For the Patriots, Knox (0-1) allowed four runs on five hits in 2.0 innings in his first collegiate start.  Graduate student Kyle Smith gave up two runs on two hits and retired one batter.  Junior Nick Martins allowed three unearned runs on two hits in 2.2 innings. 
 
Freshman Michael Salina and sophomore Britt Yount each tossed 1.0 scoreless frame.  Freshman Logan Rumberg surrendered one run on three hits in one inning.
 
Salina and Rumberg each made their NCAA debut, while Kyle Smith appeared for the first time in a Patriots uniform.
 
Freshman third baseman Evan Blanchard went 2-for-2 with a pair of singles to record his first career hits.
 
Jordan Smith went 2-for-4 and scored a run, Quinn-Irons finished 1-for-3 with a run scored and Stallings was 1-for-4 with a RBI.
 
The Patriots are back on the diamond for a three-game, neutral-site series against South Dakota State beginning Friday with the first pitch scheduled for 3 p.m. in Lexington, S.C.