BASEBALL vs. Saint Louis
2023 ATLANTIC 10 BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
WHEN: Friday, May 23 (11 a.m.)
WHERE: The Diamond | Richmond, Va.
RECORDS: George Mason (31-24, 13-10 Atlantic 10); Saint Louis (32-21, 15-9 Atlantic 10)
ALL-TIME SERIES: Saint Louis leads, 16-6
LAST MEETING: The Patriots won two-of-three from the Billikens April 15-17, 2022 at Spuhler Field.
BRACKET | TOURNAMENT CENTRAL | ESPN+ ($) 

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FAIRFAX, Va. – The sixth-seeded George Mason baseball team takes on fourth-seeded Saint Louis at the 2023 Atlantic 10 Baseball Championship on Friday, with the first pitch scheduled for 11 a.m. at The Diamond in Richmond, Va.

Mason has won its first two games at the tournament.  The Patriots defeated No. 2 Dayton, 5-4, in 11 innings on day one and downed No. 2 Davidson, 15-11, on day two.

The Patriots (31-24, 13-10 A10) are completing in the Atlantic 10 Championship for the fourth time in the last seven seasons and for the fifth time in program history.

The Patriots finished the 2023 campaign with a 13-10 mark in conference play.  The 13 wins against league foes is tied for second-most in A-10 play since Mason joined the league in 2014.  The Patriots posted 16 conference wins in their inaugural season in the A-10 and again in 2018, and Mason won 13 league games in 2017 and 2022.

The Patriots won four of their eight conference series on the season.  Mason took two-of-three from Rhode Island (March 31-April 2), St. Bonaventure (April 21-23) and Fordham (May 5-7) and swept three games against George Washington (May 12-14).

The 2023 Atlantic 10 Championships featured three games on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.   There are two games on Friday and the championship game is scheduled for noon on Saturday, May 27 at The Diamond.

The winner of the Atlantic 10 Baseball Championship receives the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Regionals.

Mason won 13 of its final 19 games of the regular season, with six of the victories by one run. The Patriots posted a seven-game winning streak at home March 11-19 and a six-game winning streak on the road May 6-16.  The Patriots finished 14-11 on the road this season, tied for the most road victories since the 2006 campaign.

Mason is 6-16 all-time against Saint Louis including 0-3 in three meetings in the Atlantic 10 Baseball Championship. 

In the last meeting between the two teams, Mason took two-of-three from Saint Louis April 15-17 at Spuhler Field.  The Patriots won the first two games, 7-5 and 11-9, while the Billikens took the finale, 8-5

The Patriots rank fourth in Division I baseball in stolen bases (150 in 55 games) and set a new program record this season.  Only VMI (192), Mississippi Valley (162) and Louisiana (158) have more. 

Mason is 21st nationally in hit by pitch (97 in 55 games) with sophomore catcher Connor Dykstra third in the NCAA (27 times in 51 games).

Freshman outfielder James Quinn-Irons has a .380 average (52-for-131) with four home runs, 32 RBI and 37 runs scored in 37 games with 36 starts.  He is fourth on the club in hits (52) and home runs (4) and fifth in runs scored (37) and RBI (32) in 37 games with 36 starts.

Senior infielder South Trimble is hitting .329 (68-for-207) with three home runs, 36 RBI and 55 runs scored in 54 starts.  He leads the team in hits (68), runs scored (55), stolen bases (27) and walks (33), is second in doubles (16) and tied for third in RBI (36).

Sophomore Infielder/outfielder Reece Woody is hitting .306 (50-for-164) with three home runs, 43 RBI and 30 runs scored in 47 games with 46 starts.  He paces the Patriots in RBI (43), is fourth in doubles (8), sixth in hits (50) and is seventh in runs scored (30).

Dykstra is batting .302 (51-for-169) with eight home runs, 40 RBI and 39 runs scored in 51 starts.  He leads the club in home runs (8), doubles (17) and hit by pitch (27), is second in RBI (40) and third in runs scored (39).

Junior outfielder Jordan Smith has a .291 average (60-for-206) with seven home runs, 34 RBI and 47 runs scored in 51 starts in center field.  He is second in hits (60), home runs (7) and runs scored (47), second in stolen bases (22), third in doubles (12) and fourth in RBI (34).

Junior outfielder Derek Wood is hitting .279 (53-for-190) with 27 RBI and 34 runs scored in 53 games with 51 starts.  He is tied for first on the team in stolen bases (27), second in walks (22), third in hits (53) and sixth in runs scored (34). 

The Patriots have a team batting average of .277 through 55 games.

On the mound, graduate student Ben Shields (7-3, 4.48) leads the team and is 30th in the NCAA in strikeouts (100).  He is second on the club in innings pitched (72.1) in 15 starts.  Shields was selected Atlantic 10 Co-Pitcher of the Week after recording 14 strikeouts with just one walk over 7.0 innings in the Patriots' 7-6 win at Rhode Island on March 31. 

Sophomore Chad Gartland (6-2, 3.49) is first on the team in innings pitched (87.2) and is second in strikeouts (79) in 15 appearances with 12 starts.  He was selected A-10 Pitcher of the Week after tossing his first career complete game and shutout in the Patriots 11-0 win over Dayton April 8.

Redshirt freshman Konner Eaton (1-3, 5.61) is third on the club in both innings (35.2) and strikeouts (46). 

Junior Christian Mracna (4-1, 2.22) paces the Patriots in saves (4) and is second on the club in appearances (21).  Graduate student Mason Posey (2-3, 6.63) leads the team with 22 appearances.  With his outing against the Colonials on May 13, Posey became Mason's all-time leader in appearances with 75.

The Patriots have a team ERA of 4.89 through 55 games.

2023 ATLANTIC 10 BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP SEEDING

#1 Saint Joseph's
#2 Davidson
#3 Dayton
#4 Saint Louis
#5 Richmond
#6 George Mason
#7 Rhode Island

ABOUT THE PATRIOTS
 
Mason has 16 returners and added 23 newcomers on the roster heading into the season under Shawn Camp, who enters his first year as the head coach of the Patriots, won his first game as a head coach on Feb. 17 with an 8-2 victory at Florida International.
 
Returning for the Patriots are graduate student pitchers Hugh O'Hara, Mason Posey and Ben Shields.  The Mason senior class includes outfielder Craig Miles, Jr., pitcher Ryan Peterson, infielder Brett Stallings and infielder/outfielder South Trimble.

The junior class includes pitcher Christian Mracna and outfielder Jordan Smith.  Sophomores returning for their second year with the Green and Gold are pitchers Jalen Grant, Chad Gartland and Britt Yount, catcher Connor Dykstra, infielder Carsen Pracht and outfielder Alex Knapp.  Redshirt freshman pitcher Konner Earton also enters his second year.
 
The Patriots added 23 new players, with 18 freshman, three sophomores and four graduate students entering their first year at George Mason.
 
Rookie pitchers joining the Patriots are Ryan Edmonds (RHP), Chris Fidanza (RHP), Tyler Herkey (LHP), Connor Knox (RHP), Logan Rumberg (RHP), Michael Salina (RHP), Kyle Smith (RHP) and Owen Stewart (RHP).
 
New position players include freshmen Evan Blanchard (INF), A.J. Martin (INF), Brady Powell (INF), Bennett Shealor (C) and James Quinn-Irons (OF).
 
The Patriots brought on a total of nine transfers.  Juniors Nick Martins (RHP), Kyle Menaker (RHP) Mark Trotta (INF) and Derek Wood (OF), along with sophomores Brandon Parks (OF), Dylan Winebrenner (C) and Reece Woody (OF).
 
The Patriots also added three graduate student transfers, Ryan Archibald (INF), Robbie Dudzinski (RHP) and Nolan Lamere (RHP).

GEORGE MASON 2023 SCHEDULE

The Patriots played a 53-game slate that included 23 contests against Atlantic 10 Conference rivals, 27 games at Spuhler Field and matchups against two opponents that made a NCAA Regional appearance last season.

The Patriots began the season with eight straight games on the road from Feb. 17 through Feb. 28.  George Mason played its first series of the 2023 campaign with three games against Florida International University in Miami, Fla. (Feb. 17-19).  The Patriots won the first game, 8-2 and the series finale, 5-2, while the Panthers claimed the middle game of the series, 3-2.

Mason fell to James Madison, 10-2, in Harrisonburg, Va. (Feb. 21).  At the Swig and Swine College Classic in Charleston, S.C. (Feb. 24-26) the Patriots lost to Rutgers, 5-4 in 10 innings and fell to Canisius, 6-4.  The Patriots wrapped up the road stretch against William & Mary in Williamsburg, Va. (Feb. 28) with the Tribe scoring a pair of runs in the bottom of the ninth for a 4-3 victory.

The eight road games to start the season were the most since the Patriots played the first eight away from home in 2017.

In March, Mason played 14 games at home and 13 games on the road.  To begin the month, the Patriots will play a season-high 14 straight games at Spuhler Field, with three weekend series and three midweek contests.

Mason began the homestand against Niagara with a four-game series (March 4-5).  The Patriots won both games of their Saturday doubleheader, 15-2 and 6-3.  The Purple Eagles won both games of the Sunday doubleheader, 8-4 and 7-2.
Mason fell to Georgetown, 18-13, in a lone midweek game (March 7).  The Patriots swept their three-game series against St. Peter's.  Mason took both games of a doubleheader, 15-6 and 9-1 (March 11) and won the finale, 12-4 (March 12).

Mason then swept three games from Cornell.  The Patriots took both games of a doubleheader, 10-5 and 4-3 (March 18), and then won the final game, 15-4 (March 19) to extend their winning streak to seven games.  The Patriots dropped their midweek matchup against William & Mary, 16-10 (March 21).

Mason played a season-high nine straight games on the road from March 24 through April 5.  The Patriots were swept in a three-game series at No. 10 East Carolina in Greenville, N.C. (March 24-26).  The Pirates won by final scores of 11-3, 8-1 and 5-0. 

Mason topped Longwood, 13-6, at Buddy Bolding Stadium in Farmville, Va. (March 29).  In the first a-10 series of the season, the Patriots took two-of-three from Rhode Island at Bill Beck Field in Kingston, R.I.  The Patriots won the first game of a doubleheader, 7-6, while the Rams won the nightcap, 8-4 (March 31).  Mason won the series finale, 5-0, on a combined one-hitter (April 2).  Mason topped Georgetown, 5-4, in Washington, D.C. (April 4) and fell to Towson, 10-8, in Towson, Md. (April 5).

The Patriots played 11 games at home and seven on the road in April.

The Patriots dropped two of three to Dayton (April 7-9) with the Flyers winning the first game, 6-5 and the finale, 6-5.  The Patriots won the middle game of the series, 11-0.  Mason lost to Longwood, 10-5 at Spuhler Field (April 11) to wrap up a four-game homestand.  Mason traveled down I-95 to face VCU in Richmond, Va. (April 14-16) and dropped two-of-three games.  The Rams won the first game, 5-0 and the finale, 11-3, while the Patriots took the middle game of the series, 10-5. 

Mason returned to Spuhler Field for a seven-game homestand.  Mason won the series against A-10 foe St. Bonaventure (April 21-23), sweeping a doubleheader, 7-6 in 11 innings and 17-5 (April 21) before falling in the final game of the series, 4-3 in 11 innings (April 23).

The Patriots then topped Mount St. Mary's (April 25), 3-1, in a midweek non-conference contest.  Mason wrapped up the month splitting a doubleheader against Richmond (April 29).  The Patriots won the first game, 4-3, and dropped the second game, 7-0.

The Patriots played eight straight on the road to begin the month of May.  Mason traveled to meet Navy in a midweek matchup (May 3) and the Patriots posted a 4-1 win.  Mason took won its series against Fordham in Bronx, N.Y. (May 5-7).  The Patriots dropped the first game, 2-1, then downed the Rams 10-5 and 11-10.

The Patriots swept a three-game series in the Revolutionary Rivalry against the Colonials in Washington, D.C. (May 12-14) by final scores of 8-7, 13-6 and 9-5.  Mason downed Maryland-Eastern Shore, 4-3, in the final non-conference game of the season in Salisbury, Md. (May 16).  The Patriots concluded the regular against Saint Joseph's at Spuhler Field (May 19-21).  The Hawks won the first game, 9-4 and the finale, 13-9.  The Patriots took the middle game, 4-3 with a walk-off in the ninth.

The Patriots played three home-and-home series during the 2023 season, taking on Georgetown, Longwood and William & Mary for single games at home and on the road.  Mason played eight league series, four at home and four on the road.

Home series against A-10 foes included three-game weekend sets against Dayton (April 7-9), St. Bonaventure (April 21-23), Richmond (April 28-30) and Saint Joseph's (May 19-21).  The Patriots visited Rhode Island (March 31-April 2), VCU (April 14-16), Fordham (May 5-7) and George Washington (May 12-14).

SCOUTING SAINT LOUIS
 
Saint Louis has an overall record of 32-21 and went 15-9 in Atlantic 10 play during the regular season.  The Billikens went 17-6 at home, 8-12 on the road and are 7-3 in games played at a neutral site.

Saint Louis finished tied with Dayton for the third-best record in the league and the Flyers won the tiebreaker with the Billikens to earn the third seed.

The Billikens have won their first two games in the tournament with a 6-3 victory over No. 5 Richmond on day one and a 23-8 win over top-seeded Saint Joseph's on day two.

Junior outfielder Cole Smith has a .364 average with five home runs, 35 RBI and 48 runs scored.  Sophomore outfielder Hayden Moore is hitting .355 with one home run, 26 RBI and 52 runs scored.

Saint Louis has a team batting average of .300 over 53 games. 

On the mound, junior Henry Litman (6-3, 4.32) leads the club in innings pitched (77.0) and strikeouts (54).  Sophomore Jackson Holmes (3-1, 1.43) is second on the team in innings pitched (65.2) and third in strikeouts (34).

The Billikens have a team ERA of 5.58 through 53 games.