FAIRFAX, Va. – The George Mason softball team (24-15, 10-4 A-10) swept A-10 rival George Washington (13-19, 4-10 A-10) in Wednesday's Revolutionary Rivalry doubleheader. The Patriots rolled past the Colonials 7-1 in Game One and later came from behind to win Game 2 by the score of 5-3.
With 13 regular season games remaining, the 2023 Patriots have already matched their win total from last year, and they are the first team in the Atlantic 10 conference to reach ten wins in conference play this season.
MASON BY THE NUMBERS
- In Game One, graduate pitcher Aly Rayle collected her eleventh win of the season and pitched her eighth complete game victory. In Game Two, sophomore Alexandra Anderson earned her fourth win of the season after pitching in relief, while Rayle recorded her first save.
- Two Patriots hit home runs in Game Two. Senior first baseman Maddy Myers hit her second home run of the season, while junior second baseman Marlaina Bozek hit her first of the season.
- Seven different Patriots recorded a hit. The team collectively hit .283 compared to George Washington's .200 on the day.
- The Patriots stole five more bases. They now have 114 on the year.
GAME ONE: MASON 7, GEORGE WASHINGTON 1
In Game One, the Patriots scored seven unanswered runs before the Colonials could answer with one run.
Aly Rayle (7.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 7 K,) had complete control over Game One, getting the complete game win for the eighth time this season. In her 93-pitch game, the graduate student only allowed one run (which was unearned) on five hits and struck out seven batters.
In the bottom of the first, with runners on second and third and only one out, Maddy Myers (1-3, 2 RBI) hit a productive RBI ground out to third base in which the third baseman's only play was to throw Myers out at first. That allowed Haley Taormina (1-3, 1 RBI) to score from third. The Patriots would score two more runs off a Colonial error the following at bat, giving the Patriots a quick 3-0 lead.
The Patriots would add to their lead in the bottom of the third. After pinch runner Logan Pickford (1 R, 1 SB) stole second, Rachel Warrens (2-3, 2 R, 1 RBI) hit an RBI single through the right side, scoring Pickford. The following at bat was Maddy Myers, who would produce her second RBI of the game. Myers hit an RBI single to the third base side, scoring the speedy Warrens all the way from first base.
Mason scored their last pair of runs of the game in the bottom of the fourth inning. After starting the inning with a Sydney Bales (0-2, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 SB) and Charlotte Montgomery ( 0-1, 1 R, 2 BB, 1 SB) walk, Marlaina Bozek (2-2, 1 RBI, 1 BB) hit an RBI single to right center, scoring Bales and advancing Montgomery to third. Haley Taormina was the following at bat, where her RBI ground out scored Montgomery. At the end of four innings, the Patriots were blanking the Colonials 7-0.
The Colonials would get one run in the top of the fifth. After Daniella Wilson (1-3, 1 R) singled to right and advanced to second on the throw, she scored on a Patriot infield error the following at bat, allowing her to score.
The Patriot defense closed out the rest of the game to seal a 7-1 victory.
GAME TWO: MASON 5, GEORGE WASHINGTON 2
Game Two featured a Patriot come-from-behind victory. There were two Patriot home runs as well as an Aly Rayle save.
It would be the Colonials who would strike first. In the top of the first inning, after Arizona Ritchie (1-2, 1 R, 2 BB) started the game off with an infield single and a steal, Reese Torres (1-2, 1 RBI, 1 BB) hit a double down the right field line, scoring Ritchie.
The Patriots would tie the game in the bottom of the second inning with a Maddy Myers (1-2, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 HR) leadoff home run. This was Myers's second home run of her season and career.
The Colonials, however, would retake the lead in the top of the fourth inning. After a Gabby Polsky (2-3, 1 R) leadoff single, back-to-back ground outs moved the leadoff hitter to third base. Daniella Lew (1-3, 1 RBI) then hit an RBI single down the right field line, retaking the lead for George Washington.
The second Colonial lead would be short-lived, as the Patriots tied the game again in the bottom of the fourth. With runners on first and second, Sydney Bales hit a double to right center, scoring pinch runner Alena Ball (1 R, 1 SB) from second base. At the end of the fourth, the score was 2-2.
The Patriots and Colonials would remained knotted up until the bottom of the sixth inning, when Marlaina Bozek hit a no-doubter over the wall, scoring three runs in total. Bozek's first home run of the season gave the Patriots a 5-2 lead going into the top of the seventh inning, where Aly Rayle (1.0 IP, 2 K) would make her second appearance of the afternoon.
Rayle made quick work in her first recorded save of the season, retiring the side in order that included two strikeouts. Reliever Alexandra Anderson (3.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB) was awarded the win in Game Two.
UP NEXT
The Patriots will continue their home stand this weekend, hosting A-10 foe Saint Joseph's in a three-game series. Saturday will feature a doubleheader starting at noon, while Sunday's single game will start at noon as well.
