BASEBALL vs. North Carolina A&T 
WHEN: Friday, March 15 (6 p.m.), Saturday, March 16 (2 p.m.), Sunday, March 17 (1 p.m.)
WHERE: War Memorial Stadium | Greensboro, N.C.
RECORDS: George Mason (9-7, 0-0 A-10); North Carolina A&T (11-5, 0-0 CAA)
ALL-TIME SERIES: North Carolina A&T leads, 1-0.
LAST MEETING: The Aggies defeated the Patriots, 12-2, on Feb. 14, 2020 in Lexington, S.C.
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FAIRFAX, Va. – The George Mason baseball team is on the road for a three-game series against North Carolina A&T beginning Friday with the first pitch scheduled for 6 p.m. at War Memorial Stadium in Greensboro, N.C.

Last time out, the Patriots (9-7) concluded their season-high eight-game homestand with a 15-5 win over the University of Maryland Eastern Shore on Wednesday afternoon at Spuhler Field.

Senior center fielder Jordan Smith, sophomore second baseman Evan Blanchard and freshman first baseman Owen Hull each drove in three runs in the game.  Freshman Toby Hueber pitched the final four innings to earn his first collegiate win.

The Patriots went 7-1 on their homestand.

North Carolina A&T defeated Mason, 12-2, on Feb. 14, 2020 in the Patriots season opener at Lexington County Stadium in Lexington, S.C.

Senior outfielder Jordan Smith is hitting .367 (18-for-49) in 16 starts in center field.  He leads the club in average (.367) and triples (3).  He is second in hits (18), doubles (3), home runs (3), RBI (14) and runs scored (15).

Graduate student infielder South Trimble is batting .355 (22-for-62) in 16 starts.  He leads the club in hits (22), runs scored (18) and stolen bases (12).  He is second on the team in average (.355) and third in RBI (13).

Freshman infielder Jake Butler has a .346 average (9-for-26) in 12 games with six starts.  He is tied for second on the team in doubles (3) and is fourth in runs scored (9).  Junior utility player Reece Woody is batting .289 (13-for-45) in 16 games with 14 starts. 

Sophomore outfielder James Quinn-Irons is hitting .375 (14-for-51) in 15 games with 14 starts.  He leads the team in home runs (4) and RBI (15), is tied for second in doubles (3) and third in runs scored (11).

PROBABLE STARTING PITCHERS
 
Friday
Mason: RHP Nick Martins (1-2)
N.C. A&T: RHP Coley Kilpatrick (1-0)

Saturday
Mason: LHP Konner Eaton (1-2)
N.C. A&T: RHP Diego Barrett (1-0)

Sunday
Mason: LHP Ryan Peterson (0-0)
N.C. A&T: RHP Evan Hart (3-0)

SCOUTING NORTH CAROLINA A&T 

North Carolina A&T has an 11-5 record through the first 16 games of the season.  The Aggies are 6-2 at home, 3-2 on the road and 2-1 in games played at a neutral site.
 
To begin the 2024 campaign, North Carolina A&T swept three games from the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (Feb. 16-18) by final scores of 5-2, 12-2 and 5-1 in Greensboro, N.C.  The Aggies then defeated Gardner-Webb (Feb. 20), 9-2, in Boiling Springs, N.C.
 
North Carolina A&T won two-of-three at the Andre Dawson Classic (Feb. 23-25) in Vero Beach, Fla.  The Aggies fell to Prairie View A&M, 7-5, then downed Southern University, 8-2, and Grambling State, 14-5.

Last time out, the Aggies fell at home to Davidson, 7-1, on Tuesday.

Junior infielder Enrique Wood is batting .375 (18-for-48) in 14 games with 13 starts.  He leads the team in hits (18), is tied for first in home runs (2) and RBI (13) and is second in runs scored (13).

Junior outfielder Shemar Dalton is hitting .354 (17-for-48) in 12 starts.  He is tied for second on the club in hits (17), tied for third in doubles (5), fourth in RBI (9) and fifth in runs scored (11).

Graduated student infielder Tatsunori Negishi has a .354 average (17-for-48) in 14 starts.  He is second in doubles (6) and runs scored (14) and tied for second in both hits (17) and RBI (11).

The Aggies have a team batting average of .286 and a team ERA of 4.41 through 16 games.
 
ABOUT THE PATRIOTS
 
Mason has 22 returners and added 18 newcomers on the roster heading into the season under Shawn Camp, who enters his second year as the head coach of the Patriots.
 
The Mason senior class includes pitchers Nick Martins, Kyle Menaker and Ryan Peterson, along with outfielders Jordan Smith and Derek Wood.  Graduate student utility player South Trimble also returns for the Patriots.
 
The junior class includes pitchers Chad Gartland and Britt Yount, infielder Carsen Pracht, outfielders Brandon Parks and Reece Woody and catcher Connor Dykstra. 
 
Sophomores returning for their second year with the Green and Gold are pitchers Konner Eaton, Ryan Edmonds, Tyler Herkey, Connor Knox, Logan Rumberg and Owen Stewart, infielder Evan Blanchard, outfielder James Quinn-Irons and catcher Bennett Shealor. 
 
The Patriots added 18 new players, with 13 freshman, one junior and four graduate students entering their first year at George Mason.
 
New pitchers joining the Patriots are freshmen Cole Egan (LHP), Brant Ertel (RHP), Dylan McCarthy (RHP), Shaun Okeeffe (LHP) and Ty Uchman (LHP).  Graduate students Luke Goodyear (LHP) and Avery Mabe (RHP) along with junior Jake Roberti join the Mason bullpen.
 
New position players include two graduate students, catcher Socrates Bardatsos and utility player Ben Jones.  Eight freshmen position players embark on their rookie year with infielders Jake Butler, Christian Carver, Cole Feldman, Toby Hueber and Owen Hull, outfielders Jake Kozlowski and Ryan Muskopf and catcher J.P. Williams.
 
GEORGE MASON 2024 SCHEDULE
 
The Patriots are schedule to play a 56-game slate that includes 24 contests against Atlantic 10 Conference rivals, 32 games at Spuhler Field and three games against opponents that made a NCAA Regional appearance last season.
 
The Patriots began the season with three games at the Baseball at the Beach tournament in Conway, S.C.
 
Mason fell to No. 18 Coastal Carolina, 26-0 (Feb. 16), lost to No. 12 Duke, 23-5 (Feb. 17) and dropped the final game at Baseball at the Beach to Indiana, 9-3 (Feb. 18).
 
All four teams that competed at Baseball at the Beach played in a NCAA Regional last season, with both Duke and Coastal Carolina in the 2023 NCAA Conway Regional.  The Blue Devils defeated the Chanticleers to advance to the Super Regional. 
 
The Patriots won their home opener over Coppin State, 21-2 (Feb. 20).
 
Mason dropped three-of-four against Purdue at Ting Stadium in Holly Springs, N.C.  The Boilermakers won the opener, 7-4 (Feb. 23), the two teams split a doubleheader with the Patriots taking game one, 11-9 and Purdue the nightcap, 12-5 (Feb. 24).  The Boilermakers won the finale, 11-1, in seven innings (Feb. 25).
 
In March, Mason is scheduled to play 20 games with 16 at home and four on the road. 
 
Mason opened a season-high eight-game homestand with a three-game sweep over Fairfield (March 1-3).   The Patriots won the first game, 3-0, the middle game, 8-0 and then notched a 9-8 walk-off victory in the series finale.
 
Mason took two-of-three from Monmouth (March 8-10).  The Patriots swept a doubleheader March 8 with two walk-off wins, 6-5 in 10 innings in game one and 2-1 in the nightcap.  The Hawks won the finale, 12-7. 
 
Mason defeated Bucknell (March 12) with a 13-12 walk-off win and then downed Maryland Eastern Shore (March 13) 15-5 in seven innings to finish the homestand 7-1.
 
The Green and Gold are then on the road for a three-game series against North Carolina A&T in Greensboro, N.C.
 
The Patriots visit Longwood for a midweek game in Farmville, Va. (March 19) before returning to Spuhler Field to host Villanova for three games (March 22-24) and VMI in a midweek game (March 26).
 
The Patriots wrap up the month when they travel down I-95 to take on Richmond in the first Atlantic 10 series of the season in Richmond, Va. (March 29-31).
 
In April, the Patriots are scheduled to play 16 games, with 10 at home and six on the road.
 
Mason is back home to take on Longwood in a midweek matinee (April 3) and then the Patriots will play their first conference home series against rival George Washington (April 5-7).
 
Mason plays a season-high five straight on the road in mid-April beginning with a single game at VMI in Lexington, Va. (April 10).  The Patriots then face the Flyers for three games in Dayton, Ohio (April 12-14) and wrap up the stretch under the lights against Virginia in Charlottesville, Va. (April 17).
 
The Cavaliers advanced to the 2023 College World Series last season after winning all three games in the Charlottesville Regional and taking two of three games against Duke in the Super Regional.
 
In 2023, the Patriots went 15-11 at home, 14-11 on the road and 7-5 in games played at a neutral site.
 
Mason is back at home in conference play against Massachusetts (April 19-21) before traveling for a Tuesday meeting against Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va. (April 23).
 
The Patriots host VCU (April 26-28) to wrap up the month of April.
 
In May, the Patriots are scheduled to play 12 games, with four at home and eight on the road.
 
The month begins with a midweek matchup against Georgetown in Tysons, Va. (May 1).  The Patriots then travel to the Gateway City for a three-game conference series against the Billikens in St. Louis, Mo. (May 3-5).
 
Mason then plays back-to-back midweek games. The Patriots are home to meet Maryland Eastern Shore (May 7) and back on the road to tangle with Towson (May 8).
 
The Patriots play their final regular season road series at Saint Joseph's in Philadelphia, Pa. (May 11-13) and conclude the regular season with a three-game series at Spuhler Field against Davidson (May 16-18).
 
The Patriots will play three home-and-home series during the 2024 season, taking on Towson, Longwood and VMI for single games both at home and on the road.
 
Mason plays eight league series, four at home and four on the road.
 
Home series against A-10 foes include three-game weekend sets against George Washington (April 5-7), Massachusetts (April 19-21), VCU (April 26-28) and Davidson (May 16-18).
 
The Patriots will visit Richmond (March 29-31), Dayton (April 12-14), Saint Louis (May 3-5) and Saint Joseph's (May 10-12).
 
The 2024 Atlantic 10 Baseball Championship will be held May 21-25 at Capital One Park in Tysons, Va.