BASEBALL vs. No. 1 Wake Forest
NCAA BASEBALL TOURNAMENT
WHEN: Friday, June 2 | 7 p.m.
WHERE: David F. Couch Ballpark | Winston-Salem, N.C.
RECORDS: George Mason (34-25, 13-10 Atlantic 10); Wake Forest (47-10, 22-7 ACC)
ALL-TIME SERIES: Wake Forest leads, 2-0
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NCAA TOURNAMENT CENTRAL |
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FAIRFAX, Va. – The Atlantic 10 Baseball champion Patriots will face top-seeded Wake Forest in the Winston-Salem Regional of the 2023 NCAA Baseball Tournament on Friday, June 2 with the first pitch scheduled for 7 p.m. at David F. Couch Ballpark in Winston-Salem, N.C.
Also competing in the region are Maryland (41-19) and Northeastern (44-14). In the all-time series against teams in this year's Winston-Salem Regional, Mason has faced Wake Forest twice (0-2), Maryland 53 times (28-25) and Northeastern 23 times (14-9).
The Patriots (35-24, 13-10 A10) went 5-1 at the 2023 Atlantic 10 Baseball Championship, including three elimination game victories to claim the title for the second time in program history. Mason completed in the Atlantic 10 Championship for the fourth time in the last seven seasons and for the fifth time in program history. The Patriots won the A-10 title in their inaugural season in the conference in 2014.
Mason is making its eighth NCAA Tournament appearance (1985, 1988, 1992, 1993, 2004, 2009, 2014, 2023). The Patriots have made appearances in the South Regional (1985), East Regional (1988, 1992), West Regional (1993), Charlottesville Regional (2004), Greenville Regional (2009), Houston Regional (2014) and Winston-Salem Regional (2023).
Mason won 13 of its final 19 games of the regular season, with six of the victories by one run. Including the Atlantic 10 Baseball Championship, the Patriots have won 18 of their last 24 games.
The Patriots rank fourth in Division I baseball in stolen bases (158 in 59 games) and have set a new program record this season. Only VMI (192), Mississippi Valley (162) and Louisiana (161) have more. Senior infielder/outfielder
South Trimble is tied for 25th in the nation (30 in 58 games) and junior outfielder
Derek Wood is tied for 29th in the nation (29 in 59 games).
Mason is 14th nationally in hit by pitch (107 in 59 games). Sophomore catcher
Connor Dykstra leads the NCAA (32 times in 55 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 third on the club in home runs (4) and sixth in both hits (52) and RBI (32).
Trimble is hitting .332 (73-for-220) with three home runs, 37 RBI and 59 runs scored in 58 starts. He leads the team in hits (73), runs scored (59), stolen bases (30), walks (30) and total bases (102), is second in doubles (16) and fourth in RBI (34).
Sophomore Infielder/outfielder
Reece Woody is hitting .315 (57-for-181) with three home runs, 46 RBI and 32 runs scored in 51 games with 50 starts. He paces the Patriots in RBI (46), is fourth in hits (57) and doubles (8) and is seventh in runs scored (32).
Junior outfielder
Jordan Smith has a .293 average (65-for-222) with seven home runs, 38 RBI and 49 runs scored in 57 starts in center field. He is second on the club in hits (65), home runs (7), runs scored (49) and walks (23) and is third in doubles (13), stolen bases (22) and RBI (38).
Dykstra is batting .293 (53-for-181) with eight home runs, 43 RBI and 41 runs scored in 55 starts. He leads the club in home runs (8), doubles (17) and hit by pitch (32), is second in RBI (43) and third in runs scored (41).
Junior outfielder
Derek Wood is hitting .283 (58-for-205) with 29 RBI and 37 runs scored in 59 games with 57 starts. He is second on the team in stolen bases (29), third in walks (22) and hits (58) and fifth in runs scored (37).
The Patriots have a team batting average of .278 through 59 games.
On the mound, graduate student
Ben Shields (7-3, 4.36) leads the team and is 28th in the NCAA in strikeouts (102). He is second on the club in innings pitched (74.1) in 16 appearances with 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, 3.43) is first on the team in innings pitched (89.1) and is second in strikeouts (81) in 16 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, 5.67) is third on the club in strikeouts (46) and fourth in innings pitched (39.2). Junior
Christian Mracna (4-1, 2.08) paces the Patriots in saves (4) and is tied for second on the club in appearances (22).
Graduate student
Mason Posey (2-3, 6.63) is tied for second on the team with 22 appearances. With his outing against the Colonials on May 13, Posey became Mason's all-time leader in career appearances with his 75th outing.
The Patriots have a team ERA of 4.74 through 59 games.
2023 NCAA DIVISION I BASEBALL TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Regionals: Friday-Monday, June 2-5
Super Regionals: Friday, June 9 – Monday, June 12
First day of MCWS: Friday, June 16
MCWS Finals: Begin Saturday, June 24 (best of 3)
NCAA BASEBALL TOURNAMENT
The tournament consists of a 64-team field that is split into 16 regions. Each is a double-elimination bracket with four teams.
The 16 winners of the Regionals advance to the Super Regionals, where they are split into eight pairing and play in a best-of-three series.
The eight winners of the Super Regionals advance to the Men's College World Series in Omaha, Neb. The teams are split into two double-elimination brackets consisting of four teams each. The winners of the two brackets meet in the MCWS Finals in a best-of-three series to decide the NCAA champion.
ATLANTIC 10 CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT RECAP
ATLANTIC 10 BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL
The No. 6 Patriots won the Atlantic 10 Baseball Championship for the second time in program history. The Patriots went 5-1 in the tournament held at The Diamond in Richmond, Va., including three wins in elimination games and won twice against No. 4 Saint Louis in the Championship Final and Championship Game.
Mason defeated No.3 Dayton in the opening round, 5-4, in 11 innings on Tuesday, May 23 and then downed No. 2 Davidson, 15-11, on day two Wednesday, May 24.
After an off day, the Patriots fell to No 4 Saint Louis, 6-5 on Friday, May 26. The Patriots came back and eliminated Dayton with a 3-2 victory on Friday to advance to the Championship Final. Graduate student starter
Kyle Smith allowed just two runs over a season-high 7.1 innings to earn his first win as a Patriot, while Gartland tossed 1.2 hitless innings to notch his second save of the season.
Mason won both games against the Billikens on Saturday, May 27 by final scores of 4-1 and 6-2 to claim the A-10 Championship.
In the early game, junior
Kyle Menaker pitched a gem in his first start in a Mason uniform to force the winner-take-all matchup, allowing just one run on four hits over 7.0 innings to earn his first win as a Patriot.
Two Mason freshmen pitchers shined under the title game spotlight. Starter
Logan Rumberg tossed 4.0 strong innings, while reliever
Owen Stewart pitched 5.0 innings of two-hit ball to earn the win.
Before winning both games against the Billikens in the Championship Final, Mason had lost all four of its games against Saint Louis in the A-10 Tournament including the first game this season on Friday, May 26.
Four Patriots were named to the All-Championship team. Sophomore pitcher
Chad Gartland was named Most Outstanding Performer of the tournament. Senior infielder/designated hitter
South Trimble, junior pitcher
Kyle Menaker and sophomore first baseman
Reece Woody were also selected to the All-Championship Team.
ATLANTIC 10 ALL-CONFERENCE ACCOLADES
Gartland was named Atlantic 10 Pitcher of the Year and First Team All-Conference. Sophomore catcher
Connor Dykstra was selected First Team All-Conference catcher, graduate student starter
Ben Shields was named Second Team All-Conference pitcher and freshman outfielder
James Quinn-Irons was selected to the All-Rookie Team.
Among A-10 leaders during the regular season, Gartland led the league in ERA (3.50), tied for second in wins (6), ranked third in innings pitched (79.2), sixth in strikeouts (72) and finished the regular season with the 10th-fewest walks (24). He pitched at least 6.0 innings in nine of his 12 starts.
Among A-10 leaders, Dykstra ranked second in hit by pitch (26), tied for the eighth-most home runs in the league (8), was 11th in doubles (15) and finished 30th in RBI (37).
Shields tied for first in starts (14), ranked second in strikeouts (93), tied for second in wins (6) and was 10th in innings pitched (66.1). He walked just 30 batters, tied for the 10th-fewest in the league.
ATLANTIC 10 ALL-CONFERENCE RELEASE
PATRIOTS' POINTS
Mason finished the 2023 season with an overall record of 29-24, including a mark of 13-10 in conference play. The 13 wins against league foes tied for second-most since the Patriots joined the league in 2014. Mason posted 16 wins in their inaugural season in the A-10 and again in 2018, and the Patriots won 13 league games in 2017 and 2022.
- First Atlantic 10 Championship and Regional appearance since 2014
- Most wins since 2014 and with one more victory will post the most since 2009
- Best batting average since 2015 (.278)
- Best on-base percentage since 2010 (.374)
- Set the program record for stolen bases (158)
- Toughest team in the Atlantic 10 to strike out
- Best fielding percentage since 2019 (.973)
- Lowest ERA in the Atlantic 10 and lowest since 2018 (4.74)
- Most strikeouts in program history (491)
- Lowest opponent batting average in program history (.254)
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 Eaton 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 to play a 53-game slate that includes 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 are 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 WAKE FOREST
Wake Forest has an overall record of 47-10 and went 22-7 in Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) play. The Demon Deacons went 29-3 at home, 16-6 on the road and 2-1 in games played at a neutral site.
The 47 victories tied for the most in program history and set the mark for the most regular-season victories, while the 22 ACC wins are also the most in school history.
Wake Forest is making its 15th NCAA Tournament appearance and are the No. 1 overall seed for the first time in program history. The Demon Deacons, the unanimous No. 1 ranked team, are the first ACC team selected the top overall seed in 10 years (North Carolina, 2013).
The Demon Deacons have not lost back-to-back games this season. Nationally, Wake Forest ranks third in walks (368), seventh in on-base percentage (.428), eighth in scoring (8.9), ninth in home runs (110), 10th in runs scored (508) and 12th in slugging percentage (.539).
Sophomore infielder Nick Kurtz has a .379 average (61-for-161) with 23 home runs, 63 RBI and 64 runs scored in 48 starts. Junior infielder/catcher Brock Wilken is hitting .351 (71-for-202) with 27 home runs, 74 RBI and 74 runs scored in 57 starts.
Wake Forest has a team batting average of .304 over 57 games.
On the mound, Wake Forest leads the nation in hits-per-nine innings, strikeouts, WHIP, strikeout-to-walk ratio and ERA.
Junior Rhett Lowder (13-0, 1.69) was selected ACC Pitcher of the Year for the second straight year. He leads the nation in wins (13), which tied for second-most in a season in program history. He led the ACC in ERA (1.69), innings pitched (95.2) and strikeouts (114).
Junior Seth Keener (6-1, 2.50) was fourth on the club in appearances (20), innings pitched (57.2) and strikeouts (73). Sophomore Sean Sullivan (9-2, 2.63) was second in the team in wins (9), innings pitched (85.2) and strikeouts (111).
The Demon Deacons have a team ERA of 2.82 through 57 games.
PROBABLE STARTERS
MASON: LHP
Ben Shields (7-3, 4.36)
WAKE FOREST: RHP Seth Keener (6-1, 2.50)
STRIKE ZONE
After winning the 2014 Atlantic 10 Baseball Championship in their first year in the conference, the Patriots advanced to the NCAA Houston Regional. Mason faced Rice in the first game (May 30) and Texas A&M in the second game (May 31).
