BASEBALL vs. Longwood
WHEN: Tuesday, March 19 (3 p.m.)
WHERE: Spuhler Field | Fairfax, Va.
RECORDS: George Mason (9-10, 0-0 Atlantic 10); Longwood (9-11, 1-2 Big South)
ALL-TIME SERIES: George Mason leads, 13-9.
LAST MEETING: The Lancers defeated the Patriots, 10-5, on April 11, 2023 at Spuhler Field.
LIVE STATS: Click here
FAIRFAX, Va. – The George Mason baseball team begins a five-game homestand on Tuesday against Longwood with the first pitch scheduled for 3 p.m. at Spuhler Field in Fairfax, Va.
Last time out, the Patriots (9-10) dropped the final game of their series at North Carolina A&T, 10-9, on Sunday afternoon at War Memorial Stadium in Greensboro, N.C.
Sophomore right fielder
James Quinn-Irons went 3-for-4 with three home runs and five RBI. Junior shortstop
Carsen Pracht was 3-for-4 including his first home run of the season. Junior first baseman
Reece Woody hit a two-run home run in the first inning and has hit three home runs in his last five games.
The Patriots are 8-1 at home.
In the all-time series, 10 of the 22 games between the Patriots and Lancers have been decided by a single run and 14 of the meetings have been decided by two runs or less.
Mason has won seven of the last 10 meetings against Longwood since the 2014 season. The two teams first met on April 4, 2006, with the Lancers edging the Patriots, 4-3, in Farmville, Va.
Last season, Mason and Longwood split the two-game season series with each team winning on the road.
The Patriots won the first meeting, 13-6, on March 29, 2023 at Buddy Bolding Stadium in Farmville, Va.
Third baseman
South Trimble hit a grand slam and reached base three times, junior center fielder
Jordan Smith also hit a home run and reached base four times and catcher
Bennett Shealor and Woody each drove in two runs. Every player in the starting lineup either drove in a run or scored a run for the Patriots.
The Lancers defeated the Patriots, 10-5, in the second meeting on April 11, 2023 at Spuhler Field.
Smith is hitting .371 (23-for-62) in 19 starts in center field. He leads the club in average (.371), hits (23), triples (3) and runs scored (19). He is second in home runs (4) and RBI (17).
Trimble is batting .297 (22-for-74) in 19 starts. He leads the club in stolen bases (12) and is second in average (.297), hits (22) and runs scored (18) and is third in RBI (13).
Quinn-Irons has a .295 average (18-for-61) in 18 games with 17 starts. He leads the team in home runs (8) and RBI (21), is tied for second in doubles (3) and is third in runs scored (16).
PROBABLE STARTING PITCHERS
Mason: TBD
Longwood: RHP Andrew Potojecki (0-2)
SCOUTING LONGWOOD
Longwood has a 9-11 record including a mark of 1-2 against Big South opponents. The Lancers are 7-1 at home and 2-10 on the road.
Longwood won six of its first seven games to begin the 2024 campaign. The Lancers swept three games from Siena (Feb. 17-18) by final scores of 27-13, 12-2 and 14-1 and swept three games from Iona (Feb. 23-25) by final scores of 15-8, 9-5 and 15-8.
The Lancers are 3-10 in their last 13 games.
Last time out, Longwood dropped two-of-three at Winthrop (March 16-17). Winthrop won the first game, 9-4, the Lancers took the middle game, 10-6 and the Eagles won the finale, 9-5.
Graduate student infielder Noah Campanelli is hitting .375 (27-for-72) in 19 starts. He leads the team in average (.375), hits (27) and stolen bases (13). He is second in RBI (16) and runs scored (18).
Senior infielder Hayden Harris is batting .358 (24-for-67) in 20 starts. He is second on the team in average (.358), tied for second in hits (24) and third in runs scored (17).
Senior outfielder Keondre Shelton is third on the club with a .327 average (17-for-52) in 19 games with 14 starts. He is fourth on the team in hits (17).
Graduate student outfielder Willie Havens is hitting .320 (24-for-75) in 20 starts. He leads the team in RBI (19) and runs scored (19) and is tied for second in hits (24).
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 Patriots dropped three games on the road against North Carolina A&T in Greensboro, N.C. (March 15-17) by final scores of 14-5, 6-5 and 10-9.
The Patriots host Longwood for a midweek game (March 19), welcome 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 on the road 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.
STRIKE ZONE
In the all-time series, 10 of the 22 games between the Patriots and Lancers have been decided by a single run and 14 of the meetings have been decided by two runs or less.
Mason has won seven of the last 10 meetings against Longwood, including a 13-6 victory in the first matchup last season in Farmville, Va.
The teams first met on April 4, 2006, with the Lancers edging the Patriots, 4-3, in Farmville, Va.
