CHICAGO, Ill. – The George Mason softball team (10-19, 2-3) split their Saturday doubleheader with Loyola Chicago (13-14, 2-3) at Loyola Softball Park. The Patriots were walked off by the Ramblers 4-3 in Game One then won Game Two 12-9 in eight innings.
In similar fashion to last season's Atlantic 10 Championship game, Loyola Chicago came from behind and walked-off the Patriots in Game One, but the Patriots would win Game Two in extra innings by three runs.
PATRIOT HIGHLIGHTS
GAME ONE: GEORGE MASON 3, LOYOLA CHICAGO 4
Game One first started as a pitchers' duel between Mason's Carly Cooper (6.2 IP, 4 R, 4 ER, 7 BB, 6 K) and Loyola's Peyton Pepkowski (7.0 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 4 BB, 10 K), but later ended with an offensive surge on both sides.
After both teams held each other both hitless and scoreless in the first two innings, Rachel Warrens (1-3, R, RBI, BB, HR) hit a home run over the left field wall to give the Patriots a 1-0 lead. It was also Warrens' first homer of the season.
The score would remain at 1-0 for the next three innings. Starting pitcher Cooper and the Patriot defense would navigate third, fourth and fifth innings with runners on base. Cooper would finish each inning with a strikeout and leave a total of five Ramblers stranded on base during that same time frame.
The Patriots extended their lead by one run in the top of the sixth inning after
Marlaina Bozek (0-1, R, 2 BB) led off with a walk and advanced to second on a subsequent groundout. In the third at-bat of the inning,
Elyssa DeRosa (1-3, RBI) hit a hard comebacker to the pitcher that ricocheted into shallow right field, scoring Bozek.
Loyola would finally get on the board in the bottom of the sixth. With the bases loaded and nobody out, Jocelyn Currie (1-2, RBI, BB) grounded into a double play, which scored Teagan Sopczak (0-2, 2 R, 2 BB) from third. The Patriots would eventually get out the inning with a quick ground out.
Mason extended their lead in the top of the seventh with another swing of the bat, this time by
Logan Pickford (1-3, R, RBI, HR). The sophore catcher hit her second home run of the season with two outs in the inning.
Going into the bottom of the seventh inning, the Patriots were holding a 3-1 lead. Loyola started their late-game rally with a Nat Lesnicki (0-1, R, 2 BB) walk, an Ava Bieneman (1-4, R) single, and later after two outs, a Sopczak walk. Up to bat was designated player Riley Owens (3-3, 3 RBI, 2B, 3B, BB), who had recorded a hit in every at-bat.
Owens lined a triple in center field that rolled all the way to the wall, allowing all three Ramblers on base to score and walk the Patriots off to win the game.
GAME TWO: GEORGE MASON 12, LOYOLA CHICAGO 9 (8 INNINGS)
Game Two was an offensive show for both schools which started with two three-run home runs in the first inning.
In the top of the first frame,
Maddy Myers (2-5, 2 R, 4 RBI, HR) launched a three-run home run over the left field wall to give the Patriots a quick 3-0 lead. Her second home run of the season also marked 100 career hits for the graduate student first baseman.
The Ramblers quickly tied the game in the bottom of the first with a three-run home run of their own. With runners on the corners, Sydney Barnett (3-3, 2 R, 4 RBI, 3B, HR, BB) hit a home run over the left field fence.
The game was broken wide open in the top of the second when the Patriots scored five runs. With the bases loaded, Myers recorded her fourth RBI of the game with a strongly hit single to left, advancing everyone one base and scoring pinch runner
Harlowe Nigh (R). The next batter was
Elyssa DeRosa (2-5, 3 R, 3 RBI, 2 2B) who lined a two-RBI double down the right field line.
Two batters later,
Sydney Bales (1-5, 2 RBI, 2B) capped off the five-run inning with a two-RBI double of her own. She lifted the ball to shallow left where the diving Rambler outfielder could not reach, allowing two more Patriots to score.
After scoreless third and fourth innings, Loyola cut the Patriot lead to three after scoring two runs in the bottom of the fifth. After Nat Lesnicki (1-5, 2 R, SB) singled, Barnett did damage again, this time with an RBI triple to center. Barnett would score the very next at-bat, when Haley Wallace (2-4, R, RBI) hit an RBI single.
Starting pitcher
Kylie Wilkerson (5.0 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 5 K) pitched five strong innings, recording five strikeouts during her start. She would be replaced with
Jordan Tallman (3.0 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 1 K) in the bottom of the sixth inning.
The Ramblers continued to chip away at the Patriot lead in the bottom of the sixth. With runners on the corners, Loyola initiated a double steal which allowed Sierra Sass (1-3, R, SB) to take second and Liz Sedakis (2-4, R, RBI, 2B, 2 SB) to steal home. After Riley Owens (1-4, R, BB, SB, CS) singled and advanced Sass to third, Ava Bieneman (2-5, RBI) reached on a fielder's choice bunt and Sass scored. At the end of the sixth, it had become a tightly-contested 8-7 game.
Mason finally ended the four unanswered run streak by adding an insurance run in the top of the seventh. After DeRosa reached base on a Rambler error and later advanced to second on a passed ball,
Kamryn Inman (2-4, RBI) laced an RBI single through the left side. The extra run gave the Patriots a 9-7 cushion going into the bottom half of the final inning.
Loyola mounted a late-game rally to tie the game in the final frame. With runners on the corners and one out, Wallace scored on a wild pitch which cut the lead to one again. The game would ultimately be tied with the following at-bat when Sedakis hit an RBI single through the right side. Those would be the only two runs scored in the inning and the game would go to extra innings.
The Patriots were able to rebound and score three runs to jump to a 12-9 lead. After Warrens singled,
Marlaina Bozek (1-4, 3 R, BB) reached on a fielder's choice which advanced Warrens to second. DeRosa then plugged the gap in right center with an RBI double, scoring one run and putting runners on second and third.
Up next to bat was
Emily Lampela (2-5, 2 RBI, 2 2B) who hit a two-RBI double to left, scoring both Bozek and DeRosa.
In the bottom of the eighth, Tallman was able to record her first 1-2-3 inning and seal her second win of the season.
UP NEXT
The Patriots will finish the Chicago series with the Ramblers tomorrow, March 24, with a 1 p.m. ET/Noon CT first pitch. The game can be followed on
livestats and can be watched on
ESPN+.
