BASEBALL at Longwood
WHEN: Wednesday, March 29 (6 p.m.)
WHERE: Buddy Bolding Stadium | Farmville, Va.
RECORDS: George Mason (11-12, 0-0 Atlantic 10); Longwood (9-18, 0-0 Big South)
ALL-TIME SERIES: Mason leads, 12-8
LAST MEETING: The Lancers defeated the Patriots, 9-8, on April 12, 2022 in Farmville, Va.
LIVE STATS

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FAIRFAX, Va. – The George Mason baseball team is on the road for a midweek, non-conference matchup against Longwood on Wednesday with the first pitch scheduled for 6 p.m. at Buddy Bolding Stadium in Farmville, Va.

Last time out, the Patriots fell to No. 10 East Carolina, 5-0, in the final game of the three-game series on Sunday afternoon at Clark-LeClair Stadium in Greenville, N.C.

Freshman outfielder James Quinn-Irons leads the Patriots with a .425 average (34-for-80) in 21 starts.  He also leads the club in hits (34), home runs (4) and runs scored (24) and is second in RBI (20).  Entering the week, Quinn-Irons ranked 32nd nationally in batting average. 

Senior infielder South Trimble is hitting .333 (28-for-84) in 23 starts.  He leads the team in stolen bases (16), is tied for first in doubles (5) and second in hits (28), runs scored (23) and hit by pitch (11).

Sophomore catcher Connor Dykstra is batting .306 (19-for-62) with two home runs, 12 RBI and 13 runs scored in 22 starts behind the plate.  He leads the team in hit by pitch (14) and is fifth in both hits (16) and RBI (12).  Junior outfielder Jordan Smith has a .281 average (25-for-81) with one home run, 13 RBI and 20 runs scored in 22 starts in center field.  He is second on the club in stolen bases (13), third in both hits (25) and runs scored (20) and fourth in RBI (13).

The Patriots have a team batting average of .281 through 23 games.

On the mound, graduate student Ben Shields (4-1, 4.02) has started six games.  He leads the club in strikeouts (39) and is second in innings pitched (31.1).  Sophomore Chad Gartland (2-1, 2.70) is first on the team in innings pitched (33.1) and is second in strikeouts (25) in six appearances with five starts.

Sophomore Konner Eaton (1-1, 2.77) has started five games including each of the last four Sunday games.  Junior Christian Mracna (0-0, 3.27) shares the team lead in appearances (9) and has notched two saves.

The Patriots have a team ERA of 5.00 through 23 games.

The Patriots third in Division I baseball in stolen bases with 78 in 23 games.  Only Mississippi Valley (102) and VMI (100) have more.  Mason is also tied for 17th nationally in hit by pitch (47 in 23 games) with Dykstra sixth in the NCAA (14 times in 22 games). 

Mason fell to Longwood, 9-8, in the lone meeting last season on April 12 at Buddy Bolding Stadium with the Lancers scoring the winning run in the ninth for the walk-off victory. 

In the all-time series, 10 of the 20 games have been decided by a single run and 14 of the meetings have been decided by two runs or less.
 
Mason has won six of the last eight meetings against Longwood and three of the last four games played at Buddy Bolding Stadium since the 2014 season.

The Patriots are 6-4 all-time in games played at Longwood.  The two teams first met on April 4, 2006, with the Lancers edging the Patriots, 4-3, in Farmville, Va.

ABOUT THE PATRIOTS
 
Mason has 16 returners and added 23 newcomers on the roster heading into the season under Shawn Camp, who enters his first year as the head coach of the Patriots, won his first game as a head coach on Feb. 17 with an 8-2 victory at Florida International.
 
Returning for the Patriots are graduate student pitchers Hugh O'Hara, Mason Posey and Ben Shields.  The Mason senior class includes outfielder Craig Miles, Jr., pitcher Ryan Peterson, infielder Brett Stallings and infielder/outfielder South Trimble.

The junior class includes pitcher Christian Mracna and outfielder Jordan Smith.  Sophomores returning for their second year with the Green and Gold are pitchers Jalen Grant, Chad Gartland and Britt Yount, catcher Connor Dykstra, infielder Carsen Pracht and outfielder Alex Knapp.  Redshirt freshman pitcher Konner Earton also enters his second year.
 
The Patriots added 23 new players, with 18 freshmen, three sophomores and four graduate students entering their first year at George Mason.
 
Rookie pitchers joining the Patriots are Ryan Edmonds (RHP), Chris Fidanza (RHP), Tyler Herkey (LHP), Connor Knox (RHP), Logan Rumberg (RHP), Michael Salina (RHP), Kyle Smith (RHP) and Owen Stewart (RHP).
 
New position players include freshmen Evan Blanchard (INF), A.J. Martin (INF), Brady Powell (INF), Bennett Shealor (C) and James Quinn-Irons (OF).
 
The Patriots brought on a total of nine transfers.  Juniors Nick Martins (RHP), Kyle Menaker (RHP) Mark Trotta (INF) and Derek Wood (OF), along with sophomores Brandon Parks (OF), Dylan Winebrenner (C) and Reece Woody (OF).
 
The Patriots also added three graduate student transfers, Ryan Archibald (INF), Robbie Dudzinski (RHP) and Nolan Lamere (RHP).

GEORGE MASON 2023 SCHEDULE

The Patriots are scheduled to play a 56-game slate that includes 24 contests against Atlantic 10 Conference rivals, 28 games at Spuhler Field and matchups against two opponents that made a NCAA Regional appearance last season.
The Patriots begin the season with eight straight games on the road from Feb. 17 through Feb. 28. 

George Mason played its first series of the 2023 campaign with three games against Florida International University in Miami, Fla. (Feb. 17-19).  The Patriots won the first game, 8-2 and the series finale, 5-2, while the Panthers claimed the middle game of the series, 3-2.

Mason fell to James Madison, 10-2, in Harrisonburg, Va. (Feb. 21).  At the Swig and Swine College Classic in Charleston, S.C. (Feb. 24-26) the Patriots lost to Rutgers, 5-4 in 10 innings and fell to Canisius, 6-4.  The Patriots wrapped up the road stretch against William & Mary in Williamsburg, Va. (Feb. 28) with the Tribe scoring a pair of runs in the bottom of the ninth for a 4-3 victory.

The eight road games to start the season are the most since the Patriots played the first eight away from home in 2017.

In March, Mason is scheduled to play 14 games at home and 13 games on the road.  To begin the month, the Patriots will play a season-high 14 straight games at Spuhler Field, with three weekend series and three midweek contests.

Mason began the homestand against Niagara with a four-game series (March 4-5).  The Patriots won both games of their Saturday doubleheader, 15-2 and 6-3.  The Purple Eagles won both games of the Sunday doubleheader, 8-4 and 7-2.  Mason fell to Georgetown, 18-13, in a lone midweek game (March 7).  

The Patriots swept their three-game series against St. Peter's.  Mason took both games of a doubleheader, 15-6 and 9-1 (March 11) and won the finale, 12-4 (March 12).  Mason then swept three games from Cornell.  The Patriots took both games of a doubleheader, 10-5 and 4-3 (March 18), and then won the final game, 15-4 (March 19) to extend their winning streak to seven games.

The Patriots dropped their midweek matchup against William & Mary, 16-10 (March 21).

The Patriots went 13-12 at home in 2022, including a mark of 8-4 against A-10 opponents.

Mason is scheduled to play a season-high nine straight games on the road from March 24 through April 5.  The Patriots were swept in a three-game series at No. 10 East Carolina in Greenville, N.C. (March 24-26).  The Pirates won by final scores of 11-3, 8-1 and 5-0. 

After a midweek game against Longwood in Farmville, Va. (March 29), the Patriots play their first league series of the season against Rhode Island in Kingston, R.I. (March 31-April 2). 

Mason plays its only set of back-to-back midweek games during the season against Georgetown in Washington, D.C. (April 4) and Towson in Towson, Md. (April 5).

The Patriots are scheduled to play 11 games at home and seven on the road in April.

The Patriots play 11 of 14 games at Spuhler Field beginning with a three-game league series against Dayton (April 7-9) and a Tuesday meeting with Longwood (April 11).

Mason is on the road for a weekend series when they travel down I-95 to face VCU in Richmond, Va. (April 14-16).  Last year, the Rams finished first in the Atlantic 10 during the regular season and won the 2022 A-10 Baseball Championship to earn a spot in the Chapel Hill, N.C. Regional in the NCAA Tournament. 

The Patriots then return home for a seven-game homestand.

Mason begins with a three-game series against A-10 foe St. Bonaventure (April 21-23), plays a non-conference midweek tilt against Mount St. Mary's (April 25) and then wraps up the month with a three-game conference set against Richmond (April 28-30).

The Patriots will play eight straight on the road to begin the month of May.

Mason travels to meet Navy in a midweek matchup (May 3), then heads north for three games against Fordham in Bronx, N.Y. (May 5-7).  The Patriots collide with the George Washington Colonials in a three-game series in the Revolutionary Rivalry in Washington, D.C. (May 12-14) and end the stretch against Maryland-Eastern Shore in Princess Ann, Md. (May 16).

The Patriots conclude the regular season when they host Saint Joseph's at Spuhler Field (May 19-21).

The Patriots will play three home-and-home series during the 2023 season, taking on Georgetown, Longwood 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 Dayton (April 7-9), St. Bonaventure (April 21-23), Richmond (April 28-30) and Saint Joseph's (May 19-21).

The Patriots will visit Rhode Island (March 31-April 2), VCU (April 14-16), Fordham (May 5-7) and George Washington (May 12-14).

The 2023 Atlantic 10 Baseball Championship will be held May 23-27 at The Diamond in Richmond, Va.

SCOUTING LONGWOOD
 
Longwood has an overall record of 9-18.  The Lancers are 6-4 at home and 3-14 on the road.

The Lancers defeated Richmond, 12-2, on Tuesday at Pitt Field in Richmond, Va.

The Lancers have dropped six of their last eight games after a four-game winning streak March 10-15, which included a 7-5 victory over Richmond and a three-game sweep of Iona.

Junior infielder Dix Eliot has a .412 average (40-for-97) with two home runs, 15 RBI and 14 runs scored in 26 starts.  He leads the club in hits (40), doubles (10) and stolen bases (5).  Senior infielder Gregory Ryan is batting .289 (28-for-97) and he leads the team with seven home runs, 21 RBI and 16 runs scored in 26 starts. 
 
Longwood has a team batting average of .238 through 26 games.

On the mound, junior Andrew Potojecki (2-2, 1.77) leads the team in innings pitched (35.2) and strikeouts (32) in six starts.  Junior Logan Berrier (1-2, 4.20) is second on the club in innings pitched (30.0) and strikeouts (29).  Junior Guillermo Garcia (0-1, 7.31) is tied for the team lead in appearances (8) and has recorded two saves.
 
The Lancers have a team ERA of 7.27 through 23 games.

PROBABLE STARTERS

Mason: RHP Nick Martins (1-1, 8.68)
Longwood: TBD

STRIKE ZONE

In the all-time series, 10 of the 20 games have been decided by a single run and 14 of the meetings have been decided by two runs or less.

Mason has won six of the last eight meetings against Longwood and three of the last four games played at Buddy Bolding Stadium since the 2014 season.

The Patriots are 6-4 all-time in games played at Longwood.  The two teams first met on April 4, 2006, with the Lancers edging the Patriots, 4-3, in Farmville, Va.