BASEBALL vs. Maryland Eastern Shore | at Towson
WHEN: Tuesday, May 7 vs. Maryland Eastern Shore (3 p.m.) | Wednesday, May 8 at Towson (3 p.m.)
WHERE: Spuhler Field - Fairfax, Va. | Schuerholz Park - Towson, Md.
RECORDS: George Mason (19-23, 6-9 A10); UMES (0-41, 0-24 NEC); Towson (11-36, 3-17 CAA)
ALL-TIME SERIES: George Mason leads UMES, 7-0 | George Mason leads Towson 50-45-1
LAST MEETING: The Patriots defeated the Hawks, 15-5 (7), on March 13 at Spuhler Field; The Tigers downed the Patriots, 10-8, at Schuerholz Park on April 5, 2023.
GAME NOTES (PDF): Click here
TUESDAY vs. UMES | LIVE STATS: Click here
WEDNESDAY at TOWSON | WATCH ($): Click here, LIVE STATS: Click here 

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FAIRFAX, Va. – The George Mason baseball team hosts the University of Maryland Eastern Shore on Tuesday at Spuhler Field and then travels to take on Towson at Schuerholz Park on Wednesday.  The first pitch for both games is scheduled for 3 p.m.

Last time out, the Patriots dropped the final game of their series against the Billikens, 5-4, in 10 innings in St. Louis, Mo.

Masson starter Ryan Peterson pitched nine innings with six strikeouts and one walk.  Sophomore right fielder James Quinn-Irons hit his 11th home run and junior first baseman Reece Woody hit his sixth home run of the season. 

In their first meeting of the season against the University of Maryland Eastern Shore the Patriots defeated the Hawks, 15-5 (7 innings), on March 13 at Spuhler Field.

Senior center fielder Jordan Smith, sophomore second baseman Evan Blanchard and freshman first baseman Owen Hull each drove in three runs in the game.  Freshman Toby Hueber pitched the final four innings to earn his first collegiate win.

Last season against Towson, the Patriots took a five-run lead into the bottom of the ninth inning but fell to the Tigers, 10-8, on April 5, 2023 at Schuerholz Park in Towson, Md.  South Trimble went 2-for-4 with two RBI and three runs scored and Woody was 2-for-5 with two RBI and one run scored in the game.

Smith is hitting .359 (61-for-170) in 45 starts in center field.  He leads the club in average (.359), hits (61), doubles (17), triples (3), RBI (45), runs scored (41) and hit by pitch (20).  He is second in home runs (7) and third in stolen bases (11). 

Junior infielder Carsen Pracht has a .313 average (46-for-147) in 44 games with 43 starts.  He is second on the club in average (.313), tied for third in doubles (9), fourth in hits (46), tied for fourth in walks (13) and tied for fifth in runs scored (27).

Quinn-Irons is batting .308 (48-for-156) in 42 games with 41 starts.  He leads the club in home runs (11), is second in RBI (36), third in hits (48), runs scored (36) and walks (16) and is fourth in stolen bases (10).

Junior catcher Connor Dykstra is hitting .285 (43-for-151) in 44 starts.  He is second on the team in doubles (11), tied for third in home runs (6), fourth in RBI (28) and fifth in both hits (43) and runs scored (27).

Woody is batting .285 (41-for-144) in 42 games with 38 starts.  He is tied for second on the club in walks (17), tied for third in home runs (6), fourth in runs scored (28) and seventh in hits (41).

SCOUTING UMES
 
Maryland Eastern Shore has an 0-41 record including a mark of 0-24 against Northeast Conference (NEC) opponents.  The Hawks are 0-11 at home, 0-27 on the road and 0-3 in games played at a neutral site.
Last time out, UMES fell to Lemoyne, 10-9, on Saturday at Rockwell Field in Syracuse, N.Y.
 
Freshman catcher Bronson Taylor is hitting .398 (37-for-93) in 35 games with 25 starts.  He leads the club in hits (37), doubles (11) and RBI (22), is tied for first in home runs (4) and is second in runs scored (19).

Senior outfielder Derrick Mayes is batting .292 (33-for-113) in 36 games with 31 starts.  He leads the team in runs scored (22) and walks (17), is tied for first in home runs (4), second in hits (33) and is tied for third in doubles (4).

Junior catcher Doyle McNew has a .289 average (28-for-97) in 31 games with 26 starts.  He is second on the team in home runs (3) and third in both hits (28) and doubles (4).

UMES has a team batting average of .221 and a team ERA of 11.36.

SCOUTING TOWSON

Towson has an 11-36 record including a mark of 3-17 against Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) opponents.  The Tigers are 8-15 at home, 2-20 on the road and 1-1 in games played at a neutral site.

Last time out, the Tigers dropped a pair of home games against Charleston, 8-5 and 17-5, over the weekend.  The series finale was canceled due to rain.

Senior outfielder Elijah Dickerson is hitting .339 (64-for-189) in 47 starts.  He leads the Tigers in hits (64) and doubles (18), is second in runs scored (32) and is third in home runs (3), RBI (27) and walks (19).

Junior infielder Jordan Peyton is batting .301 (56-for-186) in 47 starts.  He leads the club in runs scored (33) and RBI (33), is second in hits (56) and third in doubles (8).

Freshman infielder Taye Robinson has a .282 average (42-for-149) in 45 games with 43 starts.  He is fourth on the team in hits (42) and doubles (6), fifth in RBI (20) and sixth in runs scored (19).

Towson has a team batting average of .259 and a team ERA of 7.71.
 
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 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).
 
Mason 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

The Patriots have 50 all-time wins against Towson, tied for the third-most in program history against an opponent. 

Mason has recorded 63 victories against William & Mary, 53 against James Madison and VCU and 50 against George Washington.