BASEBALL at Saint Louis
WHEN: Friday, May 3 (4 p.m.) – Saturday, May 4 (3 p.m.) – Sunday, May 5 (1 p.m.)
WHERE: Billiken Sports Complex | St. Louis, Mo.
RECORDS: George Mason (19-23, 6-9 A10); Saint Louis (30-11, 10-5 A10)
ALL-TIME SERIES: Saint Louis leads, 17-8
LAST MEETING: The Patriots defeated the Billikens, 6-2, on May 27, 2023 in the title game of the Atlantic 10 Baseball Championship in Richmond, Va.
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FAIRFAX, Va. – The George Mason baseball team is on the road for a three-game Atlantic 10 series against Saint Louis beginning Friday at Billiken Spots Complex in St. Louis, Mo.
The Patriots are playing their first series in St. Louis since a three-game set May 10-12, 2019.
George Mason faced Saint Louis three times in the 2023 Atlantic 10 Baseball Championship held at The Diamond in Richmond last season.
The sixth-seeded Patriots defeated the fourth-seeded Billikens twice on championship Saturday. Mason downed Saint Louis 4-1 to force the deciding game. The Patriots scored the final five runs of the game to post a 6-2 victory in the championship game to claim the second Atlantic 10 title in program history.
Starter
Logan Rumberg tossed four strong innings and allowed two runs while reliever
Owen Stewart pitched five innings of two-hit ball to earn the win.
In the last regular season meeting between the two teams, Mason took two-of-three from Saint Louis April 15-17, 2022 at Spuhler Field. The Patriots won the first two games, 7-5 and 11-9, while the Billikens won the finale, 8-5.
Senior outfielder
Jordan Smith is hitting .373 (59-for-158) in 42 starts in center field. He leads the club in average (.373), hits (59), doubles (17), triples (3), RBI (43) and hit by pitch (18). He is tied for first in runs scored (40), tied for second in home runs (6) and third in stolen bases (11).
Junior infielder
Carsen Pracht has a .333 average (45-for-135) in 41 games with 40 starts. He is second on the club in average (.333) and doubles (9), tied for third in hits (45) and runs scored (27) and seventh in RBI (17).
Sophomore outfielder
James Quinn-Irons is batting .313 (45-for-144) in 39 games with 38 starts. He leads the club in home runs (10), is second on the team in RBI (35) and runs scored (33) and is third in hits (45) and walks (15).
Graduate student infielder
South Trimble has a .295 average (49-for-166) in 41 starts. He leads the team in stolen bases (27) and walks (20) and is tied for first in runs scored (40), is second in hits (49), third in doubles (8) and hit by pitch (10) and sixth in RBI (24).
Junior first baseman
Reece Woody is batting .291 (39-for-134) in 39 games with 36 starts. He is tied for second on the club in walks (17), third in home runs (5) and fourth in both hits (39) and runs scored (26).
PROBABLE STARTERS
Friday
Mason: LHP
Konner Eaton (3-2, 6.30)
Saint Louis: TBD
Saturday
Mason: RHP
Chad Gartland (2-3, 6.46)
Saint Louis: TBD
Sunday
Mason: LHP
Ryan Peterson (2-1, 4.84)
Saint Louis: TBD
SCOUTING SAINT LOUIS
Saint Louis has a 30-11 record, including a mark of 10-5 against Atlantic 10 Conference opponents. The Billikens are 16-3 at home, 8-8 on the road and 6-0 in games played at a neutral site.
Last time out, Saint Louis downed Butler, 12-2, on Tuesday in Indianapolis, Ind.
Last weekend, the Billikens won two-of-three in their road series at George Washington. Saint Louis won the first game, 8-5 and the finale, 4-2. The Revolutionaries took the middle game, 5-3.
The Billikens return home after playing their last eight games on the road.
Saint Louis is 16-3 overall at home and 6-0 in conference play at Billikens Sports Complex. The Billikens swept three games from Rhode Island (March 28-30) by final scores of 3-2, 8-1 and 7-3. Saint Louis also swept three games from Davidson (April 12-14) by final scores of 15-6, 6-1 and 7-2.
Junior outfielder Patrick Clohisy is batting .399 (59-for-148) in 39 starts. He leads the team in average (.399), hits (59), runs scored (50), stolen bases (24), walks (28) and hit by pitch (11) and is tied for first in RBI (43).
Senior outfielder/first baseman Drew Winters is hitting .341 (42-for-123) in 38 games with 32 starts. He leads the team in home runs (8), is third in doubles (10), fourth in RBI (33), fifth in hits (42) and sixth in runs scored (30).
Senior outfielder Cole Smith has a .333 average (53-for-159) in 41 games with 40 starts. He is tied for first on the team in RBI (43), tied for second in hits (53) and walks (23), third in stolen bases (14) and fifth in runs scored (33).
Saint Louis has a team batting average of .311 and a team ERA of 4.82.
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 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
George Mason and Saint Louis met for the first time in a three-game series April 25-27, 2014 at Spuhler Field. The Patriots won the first game, 2-1 and the finale, 9-2 while the Billikens took the middle game of the series, 4-3.
