Game One Box score (PDF)
Game Two Box score (PDF)

GREENVILLE, N.C. – The Patriots split their doubleheader at East Carolina on Friday at Clark-LeClair Stadium in Greenville, N.C.  George Mason won the opener, 7-3, and dropped the nightcap, 4-3.

THE LEADOFF

• The Patriots have won the season opener three times in the last four years.
• Junior right fielder Drew Canody made his George Mason debut and hit a three-run home run for his first homer, RBIs and run scored in a Patriots uniform.
• Junior shortstop Owen Clyne collected a pair of singles and drove in a run in his Patriots debut and drew three walks in game two.
• Freshman outfielder Lucas Alberti collected his first collegiate hit with a leadoff single to start game one and scored his first career run in the top of the third to give the Patriots the lead.  He doubled in game two for his first extra-base hit.
• Graduate student pitcher Sam Lavin was tabbed the opening day starter and allowed just one run over 4.0 innings his George Mason debut.
• The game two starter, junior Brandon Cassedy, struck out the side in his first inning as a Patriot and allowed one run in 3.0 innings with six strikeouts.

GAME ONE

George Mason took the lead in the top of the third against East Carolina sophomore starter Ethan Norby.

Alberti was hit by a pitch to start the inning and junior center fielder James Quinn-Irons followed with a single.  Sophomore designated hitter Owen Hull moved the runners into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt and sophomore second baseman Jake Butler knocked in a run with a groundout to put the Patriots in front, 1-0.

The Patriots broke the game open in the top of the sixth against Norby and Pirates junior reliever Ethan Young.  Butler got ahead in the count and belted a 2-1 pitch over the left field wall to give the Patriots the lead, 2-1. 

After junior shortstop Owen Clyne dropped down a bunt single, East Carolina summoned Young from the bullpen.  The Pirates then had a chance to end the inning when George Mason graduate student Jonny Wall grounded to third, but a throwing error by the East Carolina second baseman allowed Wall to go to second base and extend the inning.

Junior third baseman Evan Blanchard then singled, with Wall rumbling home to make it a 3-1 game.

Freshman catcher Andrew Raymond kept the line moving with a walk.  Junior right fielder Drew Canody stepped to the plate and hit a three-run home run over the left field fence to extend the advantage to 6-1.

The Patriots tacked on a run against freshman reliever Lance Williams in the top of the seventh.  Quinn-Irons was hit by a pitch to start the inning and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt.  With two outs, Clyne singled to left with Quinn-Irons crossing the plate to pad the lead to 7-1.

Junior third baseman Dixon Williams hit a two-run home for East Carolina in the bottom of the eighth off of Patriots graduate student Daniel Elliott to cut the lead to 7-3.  That's as close as the Pirates would get.

For the Patriots, Lavin scattered two singles and allowed one run in 4.0 innings of work.  He notched three strikeouts, walked two and threw 62 pitches in the outing.  Junior Connor Knox (1-0) tossed 3.0 hitless frames to earn the win.. 

Elliott gave up a pair of runs and retired one batter, sophomore Shaun Okeeffe retired both batters that he faced in the eighth and senior Britt Yount struck out two batters and sat down the Pirate in order in the ninth.

For the Pirates, Norby (0-1) allowed three runs on five hits in 5.1 innings and he struck out six without a walk.  Young surrendered three runs on two hits and retired two batters in his outing.  Williams gave up one run on one hit in 3.0 innings.

Blanchard went 2-for-4 with one RBI and one run scored, Clyne was 2-for-4 and drove in a run, Butler finished 1-for-4 with a two-run home run and Canody plated three runs with his first home run as a Patriot.

Every player in the Patriots starting lineup reached base at least once, while seven players scored a run and four players drove in at least one run in the game.

GAME TWO
 
In his George Mason debut, Cassedy struck out the side in both the first and the third inning.

The Pirates threatened in the bottom of the second, loading the bases with two outs on a walk, single and a hit batter.  Cassedy was able to get a groundout to end the inning and keep the game scoreless.

East Carolina took the lead in the home half of the third.  Sophomore third baseman Colby Wallace hit his first career home run to center off of Cassedy to put the Pirates in front, 1-0.

Alberti started a George Mason rally in the top of the fourth with a leadoff double to right-center, his first career extra-base hit.  Quinn-Irons followed with a walk and Hull moved the runners into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt.

After sophomore reliever Brad Pruett entered the game for the Pirates, Butler lifted a sacrifice fly to right, with Quinn-Irons going to third Alberti cruising home to even the score, 1-1.  Clyne then worked a walk to put runners on the corners and graduate student first baseman Jonny Wall put down a bunt, with Quinn-Irons racing home to vault the Patriots into the lead, 2-1.

In the bottom of the fourth, East Carolina put the tying run 90 feet away against Patriots' freshman reliever Jake Drumm.  After a leadoff single, Pirates junior shortstop Alex Bouche moved to third on a pair of wild pitches, but Drumm shut the door when he enticed a groundout to second to end the inning.

In the bottom of the seventh, the Pirates rallied to take the lead against Patriots junior reliever Logan Rumberg.  Sophomore catcher Walker Barron was hit by a pitch and freshman center fielder Alex Peltier followed with an infield single.  With one out, Williams hit a three-run homer to straightaway center to put the Pirates up, 4-2.

With one out in the top of the eighth, the Patriots loaded the bases on three straight walks, but were unable to push a run across the plate.

In the ninth, Alberti was hit by a pitch and Quinn-Irons reached on a fielder's choice to put runners on first and second with one out.  After both runners advanced a base on a wild pitch, sophomore designated hitter Owen Hull drove in a run with a ground out to make it a one-run game at 4-3.

The Patriots had the tying run on third base but the Pirates held on for the win.

For the Patriots, Cassedy allowed one run on three hits over 3.0 innings in his George Mason debut.  Drumm scattered two hits over 3.0 scoreless frames in his NCAA debut.  Rumberg (0-1) gave up three runs on three hits in 2.0 innings.

For the Pirates, Zayac allowed two runs on one hit and two walks in 3.1 innings.  Pruett pitched 3.1 scoreless innings with nine strikeouts.  Sophomore Jackson DiLorenzo (1-0) retired two batters and earned the win, while freshman Ian White recorded the final two outs to notch his first collegiate save.

Alberti went 1-for-3 and scored two runs, while Hull, Butler and Wall each drove in a run.

The Patriots and Pirates play the rubber game of the series on Saturday with the first pitch scheduled for noon at Clark-LeClair Stadium in Greenville, N.C.