GEORGE MASON SOFTBALL (14-29, 5-12 A-10) vs. SAINT LOUIS (24-15, 12-5 A-10)
WHEN: Sat.-Sun., April 20-21, 2024
WHERE: Fairfax, Va. | George Mason Softball Complex
SCHEDULE:
Saturday Game One: Noon
Saturday Game Two: 2:30 p.m.
Sunday: Noon
HISTORY: Saint Louis leads the series 16-8; last played on May 11, 2023 (Mason won 5-2 in the A-10 Championship Tournament Quarterfinal)
GAME PROGRAM: CLICK HERE
LIVESTATS: CLICK HERE
WATCH (ESPN+):
SATURDAY GAME ONE: CLICK HERE
SATURDAY GAME TWO: CLICK HERE
SUNDAY: CLICK HERE
FAIRFAX, Va. – The George Mason softball team (14-29, 5-12 A-10) is back home this weekend, as they will host conference leader Saint Louis (24-15, 12-5 A-10) in a three-game weekend series at the George Mason Softball Complex.
Saturday's game will be Mason's "End Alzheimer's" game, where they will raise awareness of the disease. Fairfax City Mayor and Mason Alum Catherine Read will also be throwing out the first pitch.
Sunday's game will be Bark at the Park, where fans are encouraged to bring their dogs out to the Complex. Fans will also be given a free George Mason Athletics dog bowl.
A LOOK AT THE PATRIOTS
On Tuesday afternoon, Mason played at George Washington in a doubleheader where they
lost both games. In Game One, the Revolutionaries won 10-2 in five innings which invoked the Run-Ahead Rule. In Game Two, the Patriots and Revolutionaries were tied after seven innings, so the game went to extra innings for the first time in series history. Unfortunately, Mason was unable to generate any runs in the top of the eighth inning and George Washington walked-off the Patriots in the bottom half in the inning with an RBI double down the left field line.
PATRIOT STAT LEADERS
BATTING
AVG: .326 (43-for-132) -
Marlaina Bozek
OBP: .393 -
Marlaina Bozek
SLG: .467 -
Rachel Warrens
R: 26 -
Rachel Warrens
H: 44 -
Rachel Warrens
2B: 11 -
Rachel Warrens
3B: 3 -
Rachel Warrens
HR: 4 -
Logan Pickford
RBI: 22 -
Maddy Myers
SB: 16 -
Rachel Warrens
BB: 16 -
Marlaina Bozek
PITCHING
ERA: 4.04 -
Carly Cooper (Among starters)
IP: 116.0 -
Carly Cooper
K: 75 -
Carly Cooper
A-10 AWARDS THIS SEASON
Feb. 27 -
Kylie Wilkerson (
Rookie of the Week)
March 5 -
Marlaina Bozek (
Player of the Week)
April 2 -
Carly Cooper (
Pitcher of the Week)
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
SAINT LOUIS BILLIKENS (24-15, 12-5 A-10)
Chosen to finish fourth out of ten in the conference in this year's Atlantic 10 Preseason Poll, the Billikens have won 24 games in total and are currently top of the conference standings with a 12-5 conference record. Mason, on the other hand, is in ninth with a 5-12 record.
Saint Louis has yet to drop a conference series this season, as they have either swept (St. Bonaventure), won two of three (UMass, Saint Joseph's & Rhode Island) or split a doubleheader (George Washington & Loyola Chicago).
The Billikens lead the conference in runs scored (207), home runs (29) and RBI (183) and are second in batting average (.289).
Freshman infielder Abby Ulsas (.380 / .433 / .434) has the team's highest batting average and is sixth-highest in the conference. Ulsas, was the A-10 Co-Rookie of the Week the same week as
Kylie Wilkerson, also leads both the team and the conference in hits with 49.
The Billikens' top RBI generator with 40 is fifth-year utility player, two-time A-10 Player of the Week Cami Newbanks (.378 / .493 / .658), which is good for second-most in the A-10. Newbanks also has the team's highest slugging percentage as well as the most doubles with 10. Finally, she has the second-highest on-base percentage, just behind junior outfielder and one-time A-10 Player of the Week Natalie Sullivan (.327 / .496 / .471).
Finally, the strongest bat on the Billiken offense belongs to sophomore utility player and catcher Abby Mallo (.280 / .374 / .590), who has nine of the team's conference-leading 29 home runs. Tied for second in homers is Newbanks and graduate catcher Kelsey Etling (.247 / .272 / .517) with seven.
On the pitching side, the Billikens have given up the fewest runs, earned runs and home runs in the conference, posting 129, 109 and 15, respectively. They have also posted the second-lowest ERA in the conference with 3.04
The pitching is split between two Billikens in junior Taylor Hochman (13-7, 2.52 ERA) and freshman Isabel Royle (9-3, 2.85 ERA). Hochman has the most wins in the conference with 13, has 85 strikeouts on 119.2 innings pitched and has won back-to-back Pitcher of the Week awards in the conference. Royle, the other starter, has been named Rookie of the Week twice and has 82 strikeouts on 95.2 innings pitched.
The third Billiken in the pitching staff is freshman Lily Strand (2-5, 5.25 ERA, 2 SV), who has won one Rookie of the Week award and has recorded both of the team's only two saves.
HISTORY WITH THE BILLIKENS
Mason has matched up with Saint Louis 22 times, with the Billikens having a 16-8 series edge over the Patriots. Their first meeting was
March 28-29, 2015, where the Patriots lost two of three in St. Louis.
The last time the two schools met in the regular season was last season on
April 29-30, where the Patriots were swept for the first and only time that season. Mason would get their revenge, however, later in the Atlantic 10 Championship Tournament Quarterfinals on
May 11, 2023. The fourth-seeded Patriots upset the top-seeded Billikens 5-2 en route to their first tournament title in program history.
This will be the first time Saint Louis will be in Fairfax since
April 10-11, 2021, when the Billikens won two of three from the Patriots.
TEAM STAT COMPARISONS: Mason (43 games played) | Saint Louis (39 games played)
BATTING
AVG: .243 | .289
OBP: .313 | .379
SLG: .345 | .430
R: 152 | 207
H: 269 | 292
2B: 47 | 48
3B: 7 | 4
HR: 17 | 29
RBI: 133 | 183
BB: 102 | 130
PITCHING
ERA: 4.12 | 3.04
K: 155 | 181
BB: 146 | 93
R: 209 | 129
ER: 166 | 109
H: 331 | 262
2B: 46 | 37
3B: 10 | 7
HR: 32 | 15
FIELDING
FLD: .955 | .971
PO: 846 | 754
A: 315 | 311
E: 55 | 32
UP NEXT
Mason will play their last home series next weekend, April 27-28, as they will host St. Bonaventure in a three-game series. The weekend series will also feature Senior Day as well as Alumni Day.
Saturday's game will start 1 p.m., one hour later than usual, with the second game starting at 3:30 p.m. Sunday's series finale will be played at its regularly scheduled noon start time.
