BASEBALL vs. VMI
WHEN: Tuesday, March 26 (3 p.m.)
WHERE: Spuhler Field | Fairfax, Va.
RECORDS: George Mason (11-12, 0-0 A-10); VMI (12-13, 0-3 Southern Conference)
ALL-TIME SERIES: George Mason leads, 10-4
LAST MEETING: The Patriots defeated the Keydets, 21-1, on Feb. 19, 2017 in Wilmington, N.C.
GAME NOTES (PDF)
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FAIRFAX, Va. – The George Mason baseball team concludes a five-game homestand against Virginia Military Institute on Tuesday with the first pitch scheduled for 3 p.m. at Spuhler Field.

Last time out, the Patriots took two-of-three in their home weekend series against Villanova.  Mason swept a doubleheader, 6-5 and 3-2, on Friday.  The Patriots dropped the finale on Sunday, 9-2.

The Patriots are 10-3 at home.  Mason has a mark of 3-1 in midweek games this season, outscoring opponents by a combined 53-28.  In midweek matinees, the Patriots have defeated Coppin State (21-2), Bucknell (13-12) and UMES (15-5).  Mason's lone midweek loss was to Longwood (9-2).

Senior outfielder Jordan Smith is hitting .382 (29-for-76) in 23 starts in center field.  He leads the club in average (.382), hits (29), triples (3) and runs scored (22).  He is tied for first in hit by pitch (10) and is second in doubles (5), home runs (4) and RBI (18).

Junior first baseman Reece Woody has a .309 average (21-for-68) in 23 games with 21 starts.  He is third on the team in hits (21), tied for third in home runs (3) and doubles (3) and tied for fourth in RBI (13).

Graduate student infielder South Trimble is batting .297 (27-for-91) in 23 starts.  He leads the club in stolen bases (18), is second in hits (27) and runs scored (20) and is third in RBI (14).

Junior catcher Connor Dykstra is hitting .275 (19-for-69) in 22 starts.  He leads the club in doubles (6), is tied for third in doubles (3) and home runs (3) and tied for fourth in both hits (19) and RBI (13).

Sophomore outfielder James Quinn-Irons has a .260 average (19-for-73) in 22 games with 21 starts.  He leads the team in home runs (8) and RBI (21), is tied for third in doubles (3) and tied for fourth in hits (19).

PROBABLE STARTING PITCHERS
 
Mason: LHP Ty Uchman (0-1, 7.27)
VMI: RHP Caden Plummer (1-0, 10.67)

SCOUTING VMI

VMI has a 12-13 overall record including a mark of 0-3 against Southern Conference opponents.  The Keydets are 8-4 at home, 3-8 on the road and 1-1 in games played at a neutral site.
 
Last time out, Samford swept three games from VMI in the first series in Southern Conference play.  The Bulldogs swept a doubleheader (March 23) by final scores of 14-4 and 16-9 and then completed the sweep with a 5-4 victory in the finale (March 24) in Birmingham, Ala.

The Keydets lead the nation in stolen bases (78) and stolen bases per game (3.12).  VMI ranks seventh in sacrifice bunts (22) and is in the top-25 in walks per nine innings (3.40), sacrifice flies (15) and strikeout to walk ration (2.79).

Senior infielder Justin Starke is batting .384 (33-for-86) in 25 starts.  He leads the club in average (.384), home runs (8), walks (18) and runs scored (28).  He is second on the team in hits (33) and RBI (20).

Senior infielder Ty Swaim is hitting .351 (34-for-97) in 25 starts.  He leads the team in hits (34) and stolen bases (14), is second in doubles (5) and runs scored (21) and tied for fourth in RBI (16).

Senior Cole Jenkins has a .330 average (32-for-97) in 25 starts.  He is second on the team in home runs (3) and doubles (4), third in hits (32) and RBI (18) and tied for fourth in runs scored (17).

The Keydets have a team batting average of .297 and a team ERA of 7.19 through 25 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.
 
North Carolina A&T swept a three-game series from the Patriots (March 15-17) by final scores of 14-5, 5-4 and 10-9 in Greensboro, N.C.
 
The Patriots fell to Longwood (March 19) 9-4 to open a five-game homestand.  Mason took two-of-three from Villanova (March 22-24).  The Patriots swept a doubleheader on Friday, March 22 by final scores of 6-5 and 3-2.  The Wildcats salvaged the final game of the series, 9-2.

The Patriots wrap up the homestand against 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 stays 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

Mason leads the all-time series against VMI, 10-4.  The Patriots and Keydets have met only twice in the last eight years.

VMI defeated the Mason, 20-17, on March 16, 2016 at Gray-Minor Stadium in Lexington, Va.  The Patriots built a 10-0 lead but the Keydets won the slugfest in a game that took four hours and 37 minutes.  It was VMI's first win over Mason since 1990.

The Patriots downed the Keydets, 21-1, on Feb. 19, 2017 at the Hughes Brothers Challenge at Brooks Field in Wilmington, N.C.