BASEBALL vs. George Washington
WHEN: Friday, April 5 (3 p.m.) - Saturday, April 6 (2 p.m.) - Sunday, April 7 (1 p.m.)
WHERE: Spuhler Field | Fairfax, Va.
RECORDS: George Mason (13-14, 1-2 A-10); George Washington (18-10, 3-0 A-10)
ALL-TIME SERIES: George Mason leads, 48-39.
LAST MEETING: The Patriots swept three games from George Washington May 12-14, 2023 at Barcroft Park in Arlington, Va.
GAME NOTES: Click here
WATCH ($): ESPN+
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FAIRFAX, Va. – The George Mason baseball team plays its first Atlantic 10 Conference home series with three games against George Washington beginning Friday with the first pitch scheduled for 3 p.m. at Spuhler Field.
The Patriots game at Longwood scheduled for Wednesday, April 3 was canceled due to rain.
Mason has a record of 11-3 at home this season and will host three league series at Spuhler Field in April (George Washington April 5-7, Massachusetts April 19-21, VCU April 26-28).
Last time out, the Patriots (13-14, 1-2 A10) downed Richmond, 9-6, on Sunday at Pitt Field. Senior starting pitcher
Ryan Peterson tossed a season-high seven innings and the Patriots collected 14 hits.
Peterson struck out nine batters, his most as a Patriot, to earn his first win of the season.
Freshman third baseman
Jake Butler drove in three runs and scored twice, sophomore right fielder
James Quinn-Irons was 3-for-5 with one RBI and one run scored and junior first baseman
Reece Woody hit his fourth home run of the season.
George Mason has won six straight and 12 of the last 17 games against George Washington.
Last season, the Patriots swept three games from George Washington in their final road series of the regular season, May 12-14, 2023, by final scores of 8-7, 13-6 and 9-5.
In the three games, Woody went 7-for-11 with five RBI and six runs scored, catcher
Connor Dykstra was 5-for-13 with a pair of home runs, five RBI and six runs scored and infielder
South Trimble finished 6-for-12 with three RBI and five runs scored.
Logan Rumberg,
Chad Gartland and
Nolan Lamere earned wins.
Prior to last season, the previous 10 meetings between the two clubs were at Spuhler Field.
In the last home series against George Washington, the Patriots swept three games May 13-15, 2022, by final scores of 7-3, 8-7 and 4-0 at Spuhler Field.
Senior center fielder
Jordan Smith is hitting .387 (36-for-93) in 27 starts in center field. He leads the club in average (.387), hits (36), triples (4), RBI (23) and runs scored (27), is tied for first in doubles (7) and is second in home runs (5).
Woody is batting .314 (27-for-86) in 27 games with 25 starts. He is second in average (.314) and walks (12) and third in hits (27), home runs (4), RBI (21) and runs scored (18).
Junior shortstop
Carsen Pracht has a .296 average (24-for-81) in 26 games with 25 starts. He is tied for second on the club in doubles (4) and is tied for fourth in hits (24).
Dykstra is hitting .289 (24-for-83) in 26 starts. He is tied for first on the club in doubles (7) and hit by pitch (12), tied for fourth in hits (24) and is fourth in home runs (3).
PROBABLE STARTING PITCHERS
Friday
Mason: RHP
Nick Martins (1-3, 4.66)
George Washington: LHP Michael Foltz (4-1, 4.20)
Saturday
Mason: LHP
Konner Eaton (2-2, 5.58)
George Washington: RHP Benny Wilson (0-1, 5.14)
Sunday
Mason: LHP
Ryan Peterson (1-1, 4.64)
George Washington: RHP Graham Jeffries (4-0, 3.38)
SCOUTING GEORGE WASHINGTON
George Washington has an 18-10 record, including a mark of 3-0 against Atlantic 10 Conference opponents. The Revolutionaries are 14-7 at home and 4-3 on the road.
Last time out, George Washington swept three games from St. Bonaventure (March 29-31) by final scores of 12-8, 6-3 and 7-0 at Barcroft Park in Arlington, Va.
The Revolutionaries have won 10 of their last 12 games.
Graduate student outfielder Ellis Schwartz is batting .375 (36-for-96) in 27 starts. He leads the team in walks (17), is second in stolen bases (10), third in hits (36), runs scored (22) and doubles (7) and is fourth in RBI (14).
Graduate student utility player Steve DiTomaso is hitting .344 (43-for-125) in 28 starts. He leads the club in hits (43), runs scored (25) and stolen bases (13) and is second in both RBI (23) and home runs (2).
Junior outfielder Sam Gates has a .328 average (38-for-116) in 28 starts. He leads the team in RBI (28), home runs (6) and doubles (12), is second in hits (38) and runs scored (23) and is third in walks (15).
George Washington has a team batting average of .298 and a team ERA of 5.08 through 28 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.
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.
The Patriots midweek game at Longwood (April 3) was canceled due to rain.
Mason plays its 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 is 48-39 all-time against George Washington.
George Washington is one of nine teams that the Patriots have posted at least 40 victories against in program history (William & Mary-63, James Madison-53, VCU-52, Towson-50, George Washington-48, UNCW-44, Howard-42, Richmond-43, Old Dominion-41).
