BASEBALL at No. 10 Virginia
WHEN: Wednesday, April 17 (6 p.m.)
WHERE: Disharoon Park | Charlottesville, Va.
RECORDS: George Mason (16-17, 4-5 A10); Virginia (28-8, 11-7 ACC)
ALL-TIME SERIES: Virginia leads, 27-12.
LAST MEETING: The Cavaliers defeated the Patriots, 17-7 on April 27, 2022 in Charlottesville, Va.
GAME NOTES (PDF): Click here
LIVE STATS: Click here

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FAIRFAX, Va. – The George Mason baseball team is back on the road for a midweek matchup against No. 10 Virginia on Wednesday with the first pitch scheduled for 6 p.m. at Disharoon Park in Charlottesville, Va.
 
Last time out, the Patriots (16-17, 4-5 A10) rallied to down Dayton, 8-6, on Sunday afternoon at Woerner Field in Dayton, Ohio.  Sophomore pitcher Ryan Edmonds tossed four innings of one-hit ball to earn his first collegiate win. 
 
Junior catcher Connor Dykstra hit a two-run home run and has homered in three straight games.  Graduate student left fielder Ben Jones went 3-for-3 with a solo home run and two runs scored.  Sophomore third baseman Evan Blanchard finished 1-for-2, reached base four times and scored two runs.

In the last meeting against Virginia, the Patriots fell to the Cavaliers 17-7 on April 27, 2022 at Disharoon Park.  The Cavaliers were ranked No. 11 in the nation in that meeting.
 
South Trimble went 2-for-4 and scored two runs, while Dykstra was 1-for-4 with one RBI and one run scored in the game.
 
Mason is facing Virginia for just the second time in 14 years.  The Cavaliers have won six straight in the all-time series.  The Patriots last defeated Virginia, 4-3, on April 22, 2003 in Charlottesville, Va. 
 
Senior outfielder Jordan Smith is hitting .380 (46-for-121) in 33 starts in center field.  He leads the club in average (.380), hits (46), doubles (13), triples (3), RBI (32) and runs scored (35).  He is tied for second in home runs (6) and is third in walks (12) and stolen bases (8). 

Junior shortstop Carsen Pracht has a .314 average (32-for-102) in 32 games with 31 starts.  He is second on the club in average (.314), third in doubles (6) and tied for fourth in hits (27).

Senior outfielder Derek Wood has a .305 average (25-for-82) in 31 games with 21 starts.  He is second in stolen bases (9), tied for sixth in runs scored (18) and seventh in hits (25).

Sophomore outfielder James Quinn-Irons has a .299 average (32-for-107) in 30 games with 29 starts.  He is tied for second in the Atlantic 10 in home runs (9).  Quinn-Irons is second on the team in RBI (28) and third in both hits (32) and runs scored (23).

Trimble is hitting .294 (37-for-126) in 32 starts.  He leads the team and is tied for fourth in the NCAA in stolen bases (24).  Trimble leads the club in walks (18), is second in hits (37) and runs scored (34), third in doubles (5) and fifth in RBI (20).

SCOUTING VIRGINIA
 
No. 10 Virginia has a 28-8 record, including a mark of 11-7 against Atlantic Coast Conference opponents.  The Cavaliers are 17-3 at home, 8-5 on the road and 3-0 in games played at a neutral site.
 
Virginia is 5-1 this season against Atlantic 10 Conference opponents.  The Cavaliers won two-of-three against Massachusetts (March 1-3) at Disharoon Park.  Virginia took the first game, 4-3 in 10 innings and the finale, 10-6, while the Minutemen won the middle game of the series, 10-5.
 
Virginia has also posted wins at George Washington (26-12, March 6), against Richmond (15-5, March 26) and VCU (8-4, April 9).
 
In their last series, the Cavaliers won two-of-three on the road at Louisville (April 12-14).  Virginia won the first game, 21-3 and the finale, 16-7.  The Cardinal took the middle game of the series, 14-10.
 
Graduate student catcher Jacob Ference is batting .412 (42-for-102) in 27 games with 26 starts.  He leads the club in average (.412), is third in both doubles (10) and home runs (9) and is sixth in hits (42), RBI (25) and runs scored (35).
 
Sophomore infielder Henry Godbout is hitting .389 (37-for-95) in 28 games with 27 starts.  He is second on the team in average (.389), tied for first in doubles (13), fifth in RBI (27) and seventh in hits (37).
 
Freshman infielder Henry Ford has a .372 average (55-for-148) in 36 starts.  He leads the team in hits (55), home runs (13) and runs scored (46) and is second in doubles (11), RBI (49) and walks (21).
 
Virginia has a team batting average of .346 and a team ERA of 5.71.
 
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. 
 
The Patriots 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.
 
Mason was swept on the road by North Carolina A&T in Greensboro, N.C. (March 15-17) by final scores of 14-5, 6-5 and 10-9.
 
The Patriots dropped their midweek matchup to Longwood (March 19), 9-4.
 
Mason won two-of-three against Villanova (March 22-24).  The Patriots swept a doubleheader (March 22) by final scores of 6-5 and 3-2 and dropped the finale (March 24), 9-2.
 
The Patriots downed VMI (March 26) in a midweek game, 16-3, to conclude the five-game homestand.
 
The Patriots wrapped up the month when they traveled down I-95 to take on Richmond in the first Atlantic 10 series of the season (March 29-31).  The Spiders took the first two games with 6-5 and 17-16 (10) walk-off wins.  The Patriots won the last game of the series, 9-4.
 
In April, the Patriots are scheduled to play 16 games, with 10 at home and six on the road.
 
Mason's midweek matinee on the road against Longwood (April 3) was canceled due to rain.
 
The Patriots took two-of-three games from rival George Washington (April 5-7) at Spuhler Field.  The Revolutionaries won the first game, 3-2 and the Patriots claimed the final two games, 5-2 and 13-10.
 
The Patriots dropped two-of-three at Dayton (April 12-14).  The Flyers won the first two games, 6-5 in 11 innings and 17-14 while the Patriots took the series finale with a comeback 8-6 win.
 
Mason wraps up the road 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 hosted Virginia for the first time on April 4, 1985.  The Patriots defeated the Cavaliers, 5-4, in 10 innings in Fairfax, Va.

The Patriots and Cavaliers met in the 2004 NCAA Charlottesville Regional at Davenport Field, with Virginia earning a 7-2 victory.