GEORGE MASON SOFTBALL (9-18, 1-2 A-10) vs. LOYOLA CHICAGO (12-13, 1-2 A-10)
WHEN: Sat., March 23 @ 1 p.m. ET/Noon CT & 3:30 p.m. ET/2:30 CT | Sun., March 17 @ 1 p.m. ET/Noon CT
WHERE: Chicago, Ill. | Loyola Softball Park
HISTORY: Series is tied 4-4; last played on May 13, 2023 (Mason won 6-3 in 10 innings to win the A-10 Tournament)

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CHICAGO, Ill. – The George Mason softball team (9-18, 1-2 A-10) will continue their four-game road trip and continue Atlantic 10 Conference play this weekend, as they will travel to Chicago for the first time and play Loyola (12-13, 1-2 A-10) at the Loyola Softball Park on March 23 & 24. This will also be Mason's first weekend of conference play on the road this season.

A LOOK AT THE PATRIOTS
Mason went to Towson on Wednesday for a single midweek game and beat the Tigers 12-4 in five innings. It was the Patriots' second time this season in which they won by the Run-Ahead Rule, where they were ahead by eight or more runs by the end of the fifth inning. The first time was against UMass Lowell on March 5, where they won 14-4.

The Patriots broke the game wide open in the top of the first inning, sending 11 batters to the plate and scoring seven runs. All seven of those runs came with two outs in the inning.  They would score three more in the second and two more in the fourth before the game ended in the fifth.

Sophomore catcher Logan Pickford (.174 / .224 / .261) hit a bases-clearing double in the first inning to record a career-high three RBI. The sophomore is currently tied for fifth in RBI with seven.

Also recording a career-high three RBI on Wednesday was Emily Lampela (.263 / .328 / .404), who hit her second home run of the season and her first multi-run homer of her career. The freshman from Alexandra, Va., launched her homer over the right field wall, scoring Maddy Myers (.373 / .418 / .518), Elyssa DeRosa (.268 / .333 / .268) and herself.

Starting pitcher Carly Cooper (4-9, 4.00 ERA) struck out four Tigers and secured her fourth win of the season. It was also her sixth complete game of the season. The senior now leads the pitching staff in wins.

PATRIOT STAT LEADERS
BATTING
AVG: .373 (31-for-83) - Rachel Warrens
OBP: .418 - Rachel Warrens
SLG: .518 - Rachel Warrens
R: 16 - Rachel Warrens
H: 31 - Rachel Warrens
2B: 8 - Rachel Warrens
3B: 2 - Rachel Warrens
HR: 2 - Emily Lampela
RBI: 13 - Maddy Myers & Rachel Warrens
SB: 14 - Rachel Warrens
BB: 12 - Kamryn Inman

PITCHING
ERA: 3.57 - Kylie Wilkerson (Among starters)
IP: 70.0 - Carly Cooper
K: 39 - Carly Cooper

PATRIOT AWARDS THIS SEASON
Feb. 27 - Kylie Wilkerson (Rookie of the Week)
March 5 - Marlaina Bozek (Player of the Week)


SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS

LOYOLA CHICAGO RAMBLERS (12-13, 1-2 A-10)
Chosen to finish second the conference in this year's A-10 Preseason Poll, the Ramblers have won 12 games in total and have 1-2 conference record. In the conference standings, Loyola is in sixth place, while Mason sits right behind them in seventh.

Of the last five games, the Ramblers have had four be decided by just one run. Loyola opened their A-10 schedule last weekend with a three-game trip in Washington, D.C., where they lost two of three games to George Washington. After winning the first game 10-0 in six innings, the Ramblers went on to drop the next two games by just one run.

On Wednesday, the Ramblers split a doubleheader with Bradley in Peoria, Ill. After losing the first game 2-1, they won the second game 4-3 in eight innings.

Senior infielder Sydney Barnett (.306 / .388 / .639) is the Rambler's main offensive contributor, as the Pontiac, Ill., native leads the team in slugging percentage, OPS (1.027), walks (11), doubles (6), home runs (6) and RBI (26). Barnett was also awarded last week's Atlantic 10 Player of the Week after going 5-for-10, hitting two home runs, recording five RBI and scoring four times.

Senior utility player Ava Bieneman (.325 / .372 / .388) has the highest batting average and the most hits with 26. The Geneseo, Ill., native is also tied with freshman infielder Liz Sedakis (.200 / .279 / .300) in triples with two.

On the pitching side, junior Peyton Pepkowski (6-7, 2.81 ERA) is the team's primary pitcher, having started 13 games, pitched 84.2 innings, and struck out 23 batters. The St. John, Ind., goes the distance often as she also has 10 complete games this season.

The second-most used pitcher is junior Andie Broniewicz (6-4, 3.50 ERA), who has completed four of her 12 starts, pitched 54.0 innings and has the second most strikeouts with 29.

HISTORY WITH THE RAMBLERS
Mason have matched up with conference foe Loyola Chicago 8 times, with the series tied at four games a piece. Their first meeting was on Feb. 14, 2020 when the Ramblers won 1-0 in Huntsville, Texas.

The last time the two schools met was last season's Atlantic 10 Championship Game on May 13, 2023. After the Ramblers first lost the Patriots the day before in the semifinals, the two rematched with each other after Loyola won their elimination game against top-seeded Saint Louis. In the championship game with Mason, the Ramblers won the first game in walk-off fashion, forcing a winner-take-all game to take place. In that game, the Patriot prevailed after scoring three runs in the top of the 10th inning to beat the Ramblers 6-3 and win the program's first conference tournament.

TEAM STAT COMPARISONS: Mason (27 games played) | Loyola Chicago (25 games played)
BATTING
AVG: .241 | .250
OBP: .309 | .325
SLG: .313 | .349
R: 95 | 105
H: 164 | 161
2B: 23 | 24
3B: 4 | 5
HR: 6 | 10
RBI: 79 | 101
BB: 60 | 66

PITCHING
ERA: 3.59 | 3.37
K: 90 | 117
BB: 73 | 50
R: 122 | 102
ER: 91 | 77
H: 212 | 164
2B: 23 | 40
3B: 6 | 4
HR: 16 | 12

FIELDING
FLD: .949 | .945
PO: 531 | 480
A: 198 | 178
E: 39 | 38

UP NEXT
The Patriots will return home after their road trip and begin a four-game homestand next week. They will first host Missouri in a single Thursday game on March 28 at 4 p.m. Mason will then host Fordham in a three-game A-10 series, starting with a Friday, March 29 doubleheader beginning at 2 p.m. then later at 4. The series finale will be the following day, March 30, with first pitch slated for noon.