FARMVILLE, Va. – The George Mason softball team (17-13, 4-2 A-10) lost both games to Longwood (15-10, 2-0 Big South) in Wednesday's midweek doubleheader. The Patriots lost the first game by the score of 5-7 and were shutout 0-6 in the second game.
MASON BY THE NUMBERS
- Starting pitcher Aly Rayle (7-4, 2.55 ERA) recorded her 100th strikeout of the season in the bottom of the second inning. Her four strikeouts in Game One now gives her 101 strikeouts on the season.
- Senior first baseman Maddy Myers (2-4, 1 R, 1 2B, 3 RBI) led the team in RBI today, batting in three Patriots on the day.
- Three Patriots had multi-hit games today. Myers, freshman DP Alena Ball (3-7, 1 R, 1 SB) and junior catcher Zoe Vozick (2-5) all recorded two hits in Game One
GAME ONE: MASON 5, LONGWOOD 7
Game One saw offensive production from both teams, with only the fifth and seventh innings being scoreless.
After
Marlaina Bozek (1-4, 1 R) led the game off with a double, followed by an
Alena Ball (2-4, 1 R) single and
Haley Taormina (1-3, 1 R, 1 BB) four-pitch walk, the bases were loaded for
Maddy Myers (2-2, 1 R, 3 RBI, 1 BB). The first baseman hit a two-run single, scoring Bozek and Ball.
The Patriot lead would not last long, as in the bottom of the frame, the Lancers put up three runs. They would later extend the lead to 2-4 in the bottom of the second inning after hitting back-to-back triples.
The Patriots began their three-run rally of their own in the top of the third inning. After
Haley Taormina knocked in her 14
th double of the season, the third baseman later scored during
Rachel Warrens' (0-3, 1 R) at bat, who reached on first by a Lancer fielding error. Warrens later successfully stole her 21st consecutive bag of the season in the inning and advanced to third after an
Elyssa DeRosa (0-3) groundout.
Maddy Myers then hit a double scoring Warrens. The very next at bat, junior outfielder
Sydney Bales hit a single on the first pitch she saw, scoring Myers from second. Bales would be called out at second, however, as she was trying to stretch her hit into a double. At the end of the third inning, the Patriots were ahead 5-4.
The score would remain 5-4 until the bottom of the fourth, when sophomore left fielder Emily Vinson tied the game with a solo home run to on a 3-1 count. Later in the inning, after two singles put two Lancers aboard, senior shortstop Lauren Taylor hit an RBI single to retake the Lancer lead.
Longwood would add an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth inning with another Lauren Taylor RBI single. The game would finish 5-7 after exactly two hours of action.
GAME TWO: MASON 0, LONGWOOD 6
In Game Two, the Patriots were shutout and only were able to get two hits against starter Reggie Kanagawa (7.0 IP, 2 H 0 r, 0 ER, 2 BB, 5 SO), who pitched a complete game. The only two Patriots to record a hit this game was DP
Alena Ball (1-3, 1 SB) and pinch hitter
Sydney Blackwell (1-1).
The Lancer offense picked up where the left off from Game One, scoring three runs in the third inning and another three in the fifth inning.
Longwood scored first off a Patriot infield error that scored pinch runner Peyton Coleman from second base. After Jaden Pone doubled, giving Longwood runners on second and third, Lauren Fox hit an RBI grounded out to first baseman
Maddy Myers, whose only play was at first. Similarly, at the next at bat, Lauren Taylor's RBI hit an RBI groundout to short, scoring the third out of the inning.
The Lancers tripled their score in just one swing in the bottom of the fifth inning. With runners on second and third, Lauren Taylor hit a three-run home run. Taylor finished the night going 3-for-7 with a series-leading six RBI.
UP NEXT
The Patriots will travel to the Bronx to face off against Fordham in a three-game weekend series from April 1-2. Saturday's double header will begin at noon, while Sunday's finale will also start at noon.
