GEORGE MASON (28-17, 14-6 ATLANTIC 10 CONFERENCE) vs GEORGETOWN (15-27, 8-10 BIG EAST CONFERENCE)
GAME PROGRAM: Click Here
WHEN: Wed., April 26; 4 p.m.
WHERE: Fairfax, Va. | GMU Softball Complex
WATCH: Click Here
LIVESTATS: Click Here
HISTORY: Mason leads the all-time series 9-8; last meeting was April 24, 2019 (Georgetown won 9-6).

FAIRFAX, Va. – The George Mason softball team (28-17, 14-6 A-10) will host the the Georgetown Hoyas (15-27, 8-10 Big East) in a single midweek matchup at the George Mason Softball Complex on Wednesday, April 26 at 4 p.m. This game will also be Mason Softball's Military Appreciation Game.

In the Atlantic 10 conference, Mason has the second-most conference wins with 14, which is now a school record. The previous record of 12 was set twice in 2017 & 2018. Saint Louis currently has the most conference wins with 15. 

Mason's 14-6 Atlantic 10 Conference record currently puts them in third place; Dayton (30-14, 14-3) is in second place, while Saint Louis (23-22, 15-4) still holds the top spot in the conference.

CONFERENCE LEADERS
In the Atlantic 10, the Patriots are first in the following:

• Fielding (.973), doubles (69) and triples (17).
• Individually, senior Haley Taormina (.350 / .421 / .620) leads the conference in doubles (17). She is also second in RBI (40), just two shy of sharing the lead with Abby Mallo of Saint Louis. Rookie Elyssa DeRosa (.347 / .472 / .592) is first in the triples category (7). Senior shortstop Rachel Warrens (.299 / .373 / .455) is tied for second in the conference in stolen bases with 25. Emma Schutter of Dayton currently has the lead with 27.
• The Patriots are third in both pitching ERA (2.84) and batting (.285).

NATIONAL LEADERS
Nationally, the Patriots as a team are ranked fourth in stolen bases per game (2.67). Individually, left fielder Elyssa DeRosa is third in the nation in triples (7) and is fourth in triples per game (0.18). Third baseman Haley Taormina, on the other hand, is second in the nation in doubles (17).

A LOOK AT THE PATRIOTS
The Patriots faced off against the Flyers in a top-two A-10 showdown over the weekend at Dayton. Dayton took two of three against Mason, winning both of their games by just one run. Mason's one win, on the other hand, was a 13-5 rout that ended in five innings.

Catcher Nicole Bechtel won this week's Atlantic 10 Player of the Week award. Bechtel reached base on 11 of 12 appearances over the weekend and boasted a slash line of .857 / .917 / 1.857 that included two home runs and a bases-clearing double. The Harrisburg, Pa., native led the Patriots in average (.857), on-base percentage (.917), slugging percentage (1.857), hits (6) and RBI (8).

Jordan Anderson (.303 / .361 / .636) hit her first, second, and third home runs of the season over the weekend at Dayton. The Alliance, Ohio, native hit a home run in every game this weekend and is the first Patriot to do so in a weekend series this season. She finished the weekend going 4-for-9 (.444) with three runs, three home runs and four RBI.

In Saturday's second game of the doubleheader, starting pitcher Carly Cooper (5-4, 3.35 ERA, 1 SV) won her second consecutive start. The junior also pitched two solid innings in relief on Sunday's game to keep Mason in the game late.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
The Hoyas of Georgetown have won four of their last seven games. They won two of three against Creighton (18-27, 4-14 Big East), shutout their single game against Towson (24-20, 13-8 CAA) 8-0 in five innings, and lost two of three against their most recent series against St. John's (17-25, 6-12 Big East). 

The Hoyas have a record of 8-10 in the Big East, and they are currently fifth in conference standings.

Graduate student outfielder Cameron Kondo (.325 / .459 / .701) leads the team in average (.325), runs (33), RBI (37) and home runs (13). Her 13 home runs is eight more than the second most on the team. She leads the Big East in RBI and home runs.

Two other Hoyas have 20+ RBI totals this season. Graduate student infielder Mae Forshey (.299 / .379 / .701) leads the team with 40 hits and has 21 RBI. The other graduate student with 21 RBI is infielder Morgan Zamora (.263 / .364 / .441).

On the pitching side, both Brooke Plonka (7-11, 4.46 ERA) and Julia Parker (3-11, 6.49 ERA) have seen the most work. Plonka has pitched 101 innings while Parker has pitched 97. Plonka was named Big East Pitcher of the Week last week after pitching the program's first perfect game, while also setting a new school record in strikeouts (15) during their 1-0 win over Coppin State.

Georgetown's third pitcher in their rotation, Kayla Dunn (5-3, 5.05) has 66 inning's pitched and has the team's best W-L record.

TEAM STAT COMPARISONS: Mason (45 games played) | Georgetown (42 games played)
BATTING
AVG: .287 | .243
OBP: .374 | .335
SLG: .434 | .386
R: 221 | 171
H: 331 | 268
2B: 69 | 54
3B: 17 | 4
HR: 22 | 32
RBI: 189 | 154

PITCHING
ERA: 2.85 | 5.75
SO: 268 | 253
R: 146 | 212
ER: 123 | 176
H: 277 | 317
2B: 52 | 48
3B: 11 | 5
HR: 22 | 33

HISTORY WITH THE HOYAS
Dating back to 2006, Mason leads the all-time series 9-8. The last time these two schools met was April 24, 2019, when Georgetown won 9-6. However, Mason has won two of the last three meetings. In both their 2017 and 2018 single game matchups, the Patriots bested the Hoyas by one run in eight innings.

UP NEXT
The Patriots will travel to Saint Louis to face off against the Billikens in a three-game weekend series. After last weekend's games, Saint Louis now holds the top spot in the Atlantic 10, having won their last eight consecutive games. They are now 23-22 overall with a 15-4 conference record.