BASEBALL vs. Davidson
WHEN: Thursday, May 16 (3 p.m.) – Friday, May 17 (Doubleheader with game one 12:02 p.m.)
WHERE: Spuhler Field | Fairfax, Va.
RECORDS: George Mason (20-30, 6-15 A10); Davidson (22-27, 8-13 A10)
ALL-TIME SERIES: Davidson leads, 9-7.
LAST MEETING: The Patriots defeated the Wildcats, 15-11, on day two of the 2023 Atlantic 10 Baseball Championship May 24, 2023 at The Diamond in Richmond, Va.
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FAIRFAX, Va. – The George Mason baseball team wraps up the regular season with a weekend series against Davidson beginning Thursday with the first pitch scheduled for 3 p.m. at Spuhler Field.
The Patriots and Wildcats will play a doubleheader on Friday with the first pitch for game one scheduled for 12:02 p.m.
The Patriots will recognize
Socrates Bardatsos,
Connor Dykstra,
Chad Gartland,
Luke Goodyear,
Ben Jones,
Avery Mabe,
Nick Martins,
Kyle Menaker,
Brandon Parks,
Ryan Peterson,
Carsen Pracht,
Jordan Smith,
South Trimble,
Derek Wood and
Reece Woody on Senior Day prior to game one of the doubleheader on Friday.
Last time out, the Patriots dropped the final game of their series at Saint Joseph's, 5-2, at Smithson Field in Philadelphia, Pa.
This weekend's series will be just the second time that Davidson has visited George Mason since the Patriots joined the Atlantic 10 Conference. The Patriots won two-of-three games from the Wildcats May 1-3, 2015 at Spuhler Field.
George Mason has an all-time record of 7-9 against Davidson. Last season, the Patriots downed the Wildcats, 15-11, on day two of the 2023 Atlantic 10 Baseball Championship at The Diamond in Richmond, Va.
The Patriots tied their season-high with 19 hits in the game. Every player in the Mason lineup reached base at least once and seven players drove in at least one run in the game. Woody went 4-for-6 with three RBI and one run scored, Dykstra was 3-for-3 and reached base five times with three RBI and three runs scored, while Trimble finished 4-for-6 with two RBI and scored four runs in the game.
Smith is hitting .344 (64-for-186) in 50 starts in center field. He leads the club in average (.344), hits (64), doubles (17), triples (3), RBI (51), runs scored (44) and hit by pitch (22). He is second in home runs (8) and third in stolen bases (12).
Pracht has a .306 average (49-for-160) in 49 games with 48 starts. He is second on the club in average (.306), tied for third in doubles (10), fourth in both hits (49) and runs scored (31) and seventh in RBI (20).
Sophomore outfielder
James Quinn-Irons is batting .301 (52-for-173) in 47 games with 46 starts. He leads the club in home runs (12), is second in RBI (41), tied for second in walks (18), third in hits (52) and runs scored (38) and fourth in stolen bases (10).
Woody is hitting .288 (45-for-156) in 47 games with 41 starts. He is tied for second on the club in walks (18), tied for fourth in RBI (29) and sixth in hits (45) and runs scored (29).
Jones has a .279 average (46-for-165) in 47 games with 46 starts. He is third on the team in walks (17), tied for third in doubles (10) and fifth in both hits (46) and runs scored (30).
Trimble Is batting .274 (54-for-197) in 49 starts. He leads the team in stolen bases (30) and walks (21) and is second in both hits (54) and runs scored (43).
PROBABLE STARTERS
Thursday
Mason: LHP
Konner Eaton (3-2, 6.05)
Davidson: RHP Wilson Perkins (6-4, 5.10)
Friday (Game one)
Mason: RHP
Chad Gartland (2-5, 6.39)
Davidson: TBD
Friday (Game two)
Mason: LHP
Ryan Peterson (2-2, 4.60)
Davidson: TBD
SCOUTING DAVIDSON
Davidson has a 22-29 record including a mark of 8-13 against Atlantic 10 Conference opponents. The Wildcats are 18-12 at home, 3-14 on the road and 1-1 in games played at a neutral site.
Last time out, Davidson swept three games from St. Bonaventure May 9-11 at Wilson Field in Davidson, N.C. The Wildcats won by final scores of 9-2, 8-1 and 8-5.
Junior infielder Eli Putman is hitting .358 (67-for-187) in 49 starts. He leads the team in hits (67), doubles (15), home runs (16), RBI (57 and runs scored (56).
Junior utility player Noah Jouras is batting .322 (48-for-149) in 36 starts. He is second on the club in hits (48), fourth in RBI (28) and sixth in both runs scored (29) and home runs (6).
Sophomore infielder Michael O'Shaughnessy has a .315 average (41-for-130) in 37 starts. He is second on the Wildcats in RBI (41), third in both hits (41) and home runs (8), fourth in walks (24) and seventh in runs scored (28).
Davidson has a team batting average of .276 and a team ERA of 7.51.
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 fell to No. 10 Virginia, 11-5, 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 dropped two-of-three games in conference play at home against Massachusetts (April 19-21). The Minutemen won the first two games, 10-7 in 11 innings and 9-6. The Patriots took the finale, 9-1.
The Patriots fell to Virginia Tech, 24-5 in Blacksburg, Va. (April 23).
The Patriots dropped two-of-three in their A-10 home series against VCU (April 26-28) to wrap up the month of April. The Rams won the first game, 6-4 and the finale, 9-8. The Patriots took the middle game, 3-2.
In May, the Patriots are scheduled to play 12 games, with four at home and eight on the road.
Mason began the month with a 13-2 win over Georgetown in Tysons, Va. (May 1). The Patriots were swept in their three-game series against the Billikens by final scores of 4-3, 5-2 and 5-4 in 10 innings in St. Louis, Mo. (May 3-5).
In a pair of midweek games, Mason downed Maryland Eastern Shore, 9-3, at Spuhler Field (May 7) and then fell on the road in a tangle with Towson, 8-5, in Towson, Md. (May 8)
The Patriots were swept in their final regular season road series at Saint Joseph's in Philadelphia, Pa. (May 11-13). The Hawks won the three games 9-4, 10-4 and 5-2 at Smithson Field. Mason concludes the regular season with a three-game series at Spuhler Field against Davidson (May 16-18).
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
The Patriots won two of three games against the Wildcats May 1-3, 2015 at Spuhler Field in the first-ever meeting between the two teams.
Mason won the first game 3-2, dropped the middle game 12-8 and recorded an 8-7 victory in the final game of the series.
