GEORGE MASON SOFTBALL (10-20, 2-4 A-10) THURSDAY-SATURDAY HOMESTAND
WHEN: Sat., Thurs.-Sat., March 28-30, 2024
WHERE: Fairfax, Va. | George Mason Softball Complex
OPPONENTS: #12/13 Missouri (27-7, 4-5 SEC) & Fordham (12-18-1, 3-3 A-10)
SCHEDULE:
Thurs., March 28 – Missouri, 4 p.m.
Fri., March 29 – Fordham Game One, 2 p.m.; Fordham Game Two, 4:30 p.m.
Sat., March 30 – Fordham, Noon
HISTORY: Missouri: First-ever meeting; Fordham: Fordham leads the series 16-5; last played on May 10, 2023 (Mason won 1-0 in first round of the A-10 Tournament)
GAME PROGRAM: CLICK HERE
LIVESTATS: CLICK HERE
WATCH (ESPN+)
MISSOURI – THURSDAY @ 4 P.M.: CLICK HERE
FORDHAM – FRIDAY @ 2 P.M (GAME ONE): CLICK HERE
FORDHAM – FRIDAY @ 4:30 P.M (GAME TWO): CLICK HERE
FORDHAM: SATURDAY @ NOON: CLICK HERE
FAIRFAX, Va. – The George Mason softball team (10-20, 2-4 A-10) will open a four-game homestand this week, as they will first host #12/13 Missouri on Thursday, March 28 for a single game and then Fordham for the following two days. Thursday's game with Missouri is scheduled for 4 p.m., while Friday's doubleheader with Fordham is set for 2 and 4:30 p.m. Saturday's finale with Fordham is slated for noon.
Thursday's game be Mason Softball's Faculty Appreciation Game, where players will invite their favorite Mason faculty to watch the game and be recognized for the impact they have made and continue to make for their students. Professor Craig Esherick will be throwing out the first pitch.
Saturday's game will be First Responder Day, where there will be a firetruck parked next to the third base dugout, a fire safety demo trailer, a firefighter hat giveaway, and a Sparky and Marshall mascot. The firefighter chief will also be throwing out the first pitch.
A LOOK AT THE PATRIOTS
Last week, Mason went 2-2 after a
dominant five-inning game against Towson which ended in a 12-4 Run-Ahead Rule and a
tightly-contested weekend series against A-10 rival Loyola Chicago.
In the Towson game, 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 (.189 / .232 / .321) hit a bases-clearing double in the first inning to record a career-high three RBI.
Also recording a career-high three RBI on Wednesday was
Emily Lampela (.254 / .320 / .403), who hit her second home run of the season and her first multi-run homer of her career.
Starting pitcher
Carly Cooper (4-10, 4.22 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.
In the Loyola Chicago series, the Patriots and Ramblers battled until the very last batter in all three games. Both Rambler wins were walk-offs while Mason's Game Two win on Saturday was an extra-innings affair.
Graduate student
Maddy Myers (.261 / .333 / .348) reached a career milestone in Game Two of the Saturday doubleheader, as her three-run home run in the top of the first inning was her 100
th career hit as a Patriot.
In the series, five Patriots hit home runs, and they were Pickford, Myers,
Rachel Warrens (.383 / .433 / .553),
Sydney Bales (.175 / .230 / .288) and
Kaleigh Friend (.200 / .429 / .800). Pickford, Myers and Bales hit their second homers of the season, while Warrens hit her first. As for Friend, the freshman not only was it her first home run but her first-career hit in the top of the seventh in Sunday's game against the Ramblers.
PATRIOT STAT LEADERS
BATTING
AVG: .383 (36-for-94) -
Rachel Warrens
OBP: .433 -
Rachel Warrens
SLG: .553 -
Rachel Warrens
R: 20 -
Rachel Warrens
H: 36 -
Rachel Warrens
2B: 9 -
Rachel Warrens
3B: 2 -
Rachel Warrens
HR: 2 -
Emily Lampela,
Sydney Bales,
Maddy Myers &
Logan Pickford
RBI: 17 -
Maddy Myers
SB: 14 -
Rachel Warrens
BB: 14 -
Kamryn Inman
PITCHING
ERA: 3.84 -
Kylie Wilkerson (Among starters)
IP: 81.1 -
Carly Cooper
K: 48 -
Carly Cooper
PATRIOT AWARDS THIS SEASON
Feb. 27 -
Kylie Wilkerson (Rookie of the Week)
March 5 -
Marlaina Bozek (Player of the Week)
NOTABLE STATS & STREAKS
Warrens is currently on a 12-game hit streak that spans back to March 8. During that time, the graduate student shortstop has a .432/.512/.622 slashline (which leads the team) and leads the team in at-bats (40), hits (16), doubles (4) and runs scored (8).
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
#12/13 MISSOURI TIGERS (27-7, 4-5 SEC)
The Tigers have won 27 games in total and have 4-5 Southeastern Conference record. In the conference standings, Mizzou is in eighth place.
In this week's USA Today / NFCA Division I Top 25 Coaches Poll, Missouri is ranked 12
th while D1 Softball has them ranked 13
th in the nation.
The Tigers are currently on a spring break east coast trip that includes games against Hofstra, Fordham, the Patriots and Villanova. So far, they have beaten Fordham 20-0 in five innings and Hofstra 2-1 in nine. Of the last 11 Mizzou has played, they have won seven.
Senior outfielder Alex Honnold (.381 / .460 / .648) is the team's main offensive contributor, as the West Des Moines, Iowa, native leads the team in batting average, slugging percentage, OPS (1.108), hits (40), doubles (15) and triples (2). She is also tied for the lead in RBI (25) with junior catcher/infielder Julia Crenshaw (.248 / .310 / .376). and RBI (25, tied).
On the pitching side, sophomore Cierra Harrison (10-1, 1.69 ERA, 1 SV) has the team's lowest ERA and the best win-loss record of 10 wins and one loss. The Lee's Summit, Mo., native has 58 strikeouts on 70.1 innings pitched.
The most used pitcher is senior Laurin Krings (8-5, 3.07 ERA), who has pitched 84.1 innings and has a team-leading 72 strikeouts.
Lastly, freshman Marissa McCann (5-1, 2.33 ERA, 1 SV) is the third pitcher in the Tiger rotation. The product from Surprise, Ariz., was tabbed with her first SEC Co-Freshman of the Week honor this week after posting a 2-0 record with a 0.00 ERA over her two appearances against No. 2/3 LSU.
HISTORY WITH THE TIGERS
This will be Mason's first time playing Missouri in its program's history.
TEAM STAT COMPARISONS: Mason (30 games played) | Missouri (34 games played)
BATTING
AVG: .242 | .286
OBP: .312 | .383
SLG: .332 | .442
R: 115 | 194
H: 187 | 250
2B: 29 | 55
3B: 4 | 6
HR: 11 | 23
RBI: 99 | 181
BB: 71 | 100
PITCHING
ERA: 3.86 | 2.24
K: 105 | 186
BB: 87 | 58
R: 141 | 88
ER: 110 | 71
H: 241 | 184
2B: 26 | 29
3B: 8 | 4
HR: 19 | 26
FIELDING
FLD: .954 | .970
PO: 597 | 665
A: 231 | 206
E: 40 | 27
FORDHAM RAMS (12-18-1, 3-3 A-10)
Chosen to finish fifth in the conference in this year's A-10 Preseason Poll, the Rams have won 12 games in total and have 3-3 conference record. In the conference standings, Loyola is in sixth place, while Mason's 2-4 record sits in ninth.
Fordham has a 5-5 record the last ten games and have gone 3-3 against A-10 opponents. They opened their conference season winning two of three against Rhode Island and later lost two of three at UMass. Their last game was against Missouri, where they lost 20-0 in five innings.
Sydney Wells (.318 / .421 / .705) is the most dangerous Ram at the plate. The junior catcher leads the team in batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, OPS (1.126), walks (15), home runs (8) and RBI (34).
Fordham's other strong hitter, senior Bailey Enoch (.306 / .395 / .602), leads the team in hits (30), doubles (10, tied with Wells) and triples (2).
On the pitching side, graduate student Devon Miller (5-5, 3.46 ERA, 1 SV) is the team's primary pitcher, having pitched 85.0 innings, and leads the team with 67 strikeouts.
The second-most used pitcher is sophomore Holly Beeman (6-5, 5.10 ERA), who has the most wins on the staff with six, has the second-most strikeouts with 27 and has pitched 68.2 innings. Third in the Ram rotation is freshman Olivia Simcoe (1-5, 7.88 ERA), who has one win, 32.0 innings pitched and 20 strikeouts.
HISTORY WITH THE RAMS
Mason have matched up with conference foe Loyola Chicago 21 times, with the Rams having a 16-5 series edge over the Patriots. Their first meeting was on
May 3, 2015 when the Rams won 1-0 in Fairfax.
This will be Fordham's first time back in Fairfax since
2022, where they won all three games.
The last time the two schools met was last season's first round of the Atlantic 10 Tournament on
May 10, 2023, when the Patriots shut out the then-defending champions 1-0 at their home field of Bahoshy Field. In the regular season, (
April 1-2, 2023) the Patriots won two of three and set their steals record in their home field as well.
TEAM STAT COMPARISONS: Mason (30 games played) | Fordham (31 games played)
BATTING
AVG: .242 | .263
OBP: .312 | .345
SLG: .332 | .411
R: 115 | 134
H: 187 | 212
2B: 29 | 56
3B: 4 | 5
HR: 11 | 18
RBI: 99 | 122
BB: 71 | 94
PITCHING
ERA: 3.86 | 5.43
K: 105 | 125
BB: 87 | 103
R: 141 | 184
ER: 110 | 157
H: 241 | 249
2B: 26 | 35
3B: 8 | 4
HR: 19 | 28
FIELDING
FLD: .954 | .963
PO: 597 | 605
A: 231 | 194
E: 40 | 31
UP NEXT
The Patriots will begin the first five games of April on the road. They will first meet with cross-river rival George Washington for a doubleheader on Tuesday, April 2 starting at noon. Then on the weekend, Mason will travel to Philadelphia for a three-game series with Saint Joseph's. The doubleheader on Saturday, April 6 is scheduled for noon and 2:30 p.m., while the Sunday finale is slated for a noon first pitch.
