BRONX, N.Y. – The George Mason softball team (19-14, 6-3 A-10) split Sunday's doubleheader with Fordham (11-17, 3-3 A-10), losing the first game 5-6 and winning the series finale 3-1. This is the first time Mason has won a series against Fordham and the third consecutive Atlantic 10 series win to start conference play this season.
MASON BY THE NUMBERS
- The 2023 Mason Softball team has 99 steals on the year, setting the new all-time season steals record with 19 regular season games still remaining. The previous record of 96 had stood for almost twenty years; it was first set in 1995 and was tied again in 2004.
- Freshman left fielder Elyssa DeRosa (4-4, 1 2B, 2 R, 3 RBI) was perfect at the plate today, going 4-for-4 with one double and three RBI.
- Graduate pitcher Aly Rayle (9-4, 2.26 ERA) collected her second complete game win of the weekend, striking out six batters in Game Two.
- Redshirt junior Nicole Bechtel (2-6, 1 RBI) ended her hitting streak at nine games, which is the longest for any Patriot this season.
GAME ONE: MASON 5, FORDHAM 6
Game One saw offensive production from both teams, with only the third and seventh innings being scoreless.
There were a total of six stolen bases in Game One. With 19 regular season games still remaining, the Patriots set the new all-time record for stolen bases in a single season. In the fifth inning of Sunday's first game, junior catcher Zoe Vozick (0-2, 1 R, 2 BB, 1 SB) tied the record. Later in the inning, junior center fielder Charlotte Montgomery (1-4, 1 SB) stole the record-breaking bag.
Left fielder Elyssa DeRosa (2-2 3 RBI, 1 BB, 1 SB, 1 SF) batted in three of Mason's five runs this game. Her first RBI came in the first inning off an infield single, scoring Haley Taormina (1-3, 2 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB) to take an early Patriot lead.
The Patriots extended their lead the following inning. Catcher Nicole Bechtel (2-3, 1 RBI, 1 BB) singled through the left side, scoring Zoe Vozick. Bechtel's single also extended her hitting streak to nine games, which is the longest such streak on the team.
In the top of the fourth, a pair of RBI singles by Haley Taormina and Elyssa DeRosa doubled the Patriot lead to 4-0.
Fordham, whose home run-heavy offense was kept quiet for the first three innings of the game, thanks to the strong start of Jordan Tallman (4.1 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 3 SO), started their rally in the bottom of the fourth inning. Ram catcher Sydney Wells hit a solo home run, cutting the Patriot lead to three.
It would be the bottom of the fifth inning where the Rams would take the lead. The bases were loaded with one out when Sydney Wells came to bat again. On a 2-0 count, the catcher hit a grand slam, putting the Rams on top.
The Patriots would level the game in the top of the following inning, however, thanks to Elyssa DeRosa's third RBI of the day. After Nicole Bechtel singled and was replaced by freshman Kamryn Inman (1 R, 1 SB) as a pinch runner, who then stole second and advanced to third by on a Ram throwing error, DeRosa lifted a sacrifice fly to center field which scored Inman.
Unfortunately for the Patriots, Fordham found another answer in the bottom of the sixth. After two Ram singles and a wild pitch, Neleh Nogay's single through the right side scored the go-ahead run. The Patriots would go out in order in the top of the seventh inning, leveling the weekend series to one game a piece.
GAME TWO: MASON 3, FORDHAM 1
In Game Two, starting pitcher Aly Rayle (7.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 6 SO) pitched her second complete game win on the weekend, this time on 124 pitches. The Herndon, Va., native now has six complete game victories on the season.
Fordham would take the lead first in the bottom of the third inning. Right fielder Bailey Enoch hit a sacrifice fly to right field, scoring Michaela Carter from third base. The Rams would maintain their one-run lead until the top of the fifth inning.
The Patriots would take the lead in the top of the fifth. Elyssa DeRosa (2-2, 1 2B, 1 BB) led the inning off with a double to right field. She later would advance to third on a passed ball later in the inning. Designated player Zoe Vozick (1-3, 1 RBI) then hit a single to center, batting DeRosa home and leveling the game. Vozick would then be replaced by Carly Cooper (1 R) to be a pinch runner.
The inning continued with a Hayley Shifflett (0-0, 1 BB) full count walk, who would also be replaced by Charlotte Montgomery (0-2) as a pinch runner. Both Cooper and Montgomery advanced one base due to a Fordham passed ball. Up to bat was Marlaina Bozek (1-4, 1 RBI, 1 SB), whose hot shot to third base could not be handled cleanly. Bozek's infield single scored Carly Cooper, giving the Patriots the 2-1 advantage at the end of the inning.
Mason added an insurance run in the top of the sixth. After DeRosa's infield single to short, senior first baseman Maddy Myers (1-3, 1 RBI, 1 2B) launched a double to left field, hitting the wall. DeRosa would score from first and Myers would advance to third on the Ram throw to home.
Aly Rayle and the Patriot defense were able to shut down the Rams' seventh inning rally, as they were able to get around a one-out single and close out the game to earn the team's third straight conference series victory.
UP NEXT
The Patriots will host Towson at George Mason Softball Complex on Wednesday, April 5. They will only play one game with the Tigers, which will be set for 3 p.m.
