FAIRFAX, Va. – The George Mason softball team (20-14, 6-3 A-10) beat Towson (17-16, 7-5 CAA) by the final score of 7-1 on Wednesday afternoon. This was Mason's largest margin of victory and first time scoring seven or more runs since March 15^th, when the Patriots beat Coppin State 8-2 at home.

MASON BY THE NUMBERS

• Starting pitcher Carly Cooper (3-4, 3.23 ERA, 1 SV) had her best pitching performance of the season. The junior pitched five innings, struck out four Tigers, had zero walks and only allowed one earned run.
• Shortstop Rachel Warrens and catcher Nicole Bechtel each recorded 2 RBI on the afternoon. Center fielder Charlotte Montgomery also tacked on an RBI.
• Six different Patriots recorded a hit. The team collectively hit .250 compared to Towson's .192 on the day.
• The Patriots stole four more bases, officially hitting over 100 stolen bases on the year.

MASON 7, TOWSON 1

The Patriots jumped to an early lead and never looked back this afternoon. In the bottom of the first, Marlaina Bozek (1-3, 3 R, 1 BB, 2 SB) singled and stole second, and Haley Taormina (0-3, 1 R, 1 BB) drew a walk. Nicole Bechtel (1-3, 2 RBI, 1 BB) then reached first on a throwing error by the Tiger third baseman, allowing to score Bozek from second and advancing Taormina to third. Up to bat was Rachel Warrens (1-2, 2 RBI), who hit a sacrifice fly RBI to center, scoring Taormina to put the Patriots up by two.

In the bottom of the third inning, the Patriots extended their lead by one run, thanks to Warrens' second RBI of the day. With Bozek on second and Bechtel on third, Rachel Warrens hit an RBI single up the middle, scoring Bozek from second base.

The Patriot offense kept the line moving, as four more runs would score in the fourth inning. With the bases loaded, Haley Taormina reached to first on a fielding error, which allowed two runners to score. Nicole Bechtel capped off the inning with a two-run single up the middle.

With that single, Nicole Bechtel has now successfully recorded a hit in ten of her last eleven games. In that eleven game span, the Mason catcher is batting .394 and leads the team with nine RBI. She has also hit four doubles, one triple and one home run.

The Tigers would get one run in the top of the fifth, after hitting three singles in the inning. The Patriots would answer back with a run of their own in the bottom of the sixth, when center fielder Charlotte Montgomery (1-2, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 SB) hit an RBI single, scoring Sydney Bales (1-2, 1 R 1 SB).

Reliever Jordan Anderson (2.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 SO) pitched two solid innings and finished the game to secure Mason's twentieth win of the 2023 campaign.

UP NEXT
The Patriots will travel to Olean, N.Y., to resume A-10 play and take on St. Bonaventure on April 7-8. The first day of the doubleheader, which will be on a Friday, will start at 2 p.m., while Saturday's finale will start at noon.