Box score (PDF)

GREENVILLE, N.C. – The George Mason baseball team dropped the series finale at East Carolina, 4-3, on Saturday afternoon at Clark-LeClair Stadium in Greenville, N.C.

THE LEADOFF

• Graduate student pitcher Connor O'Hara made his Patriots debut and retired 13 of the first 15 batters in the game.  He didn't allow an earned run and scattered five hits with six strikeouts over 5.0 innings.
• Junior center fielder James Quinn-Irons hit his first home run of the season and recorded the Patriots only hit of the game.
• George Mason scored first in all three games of the series.

The Patriots (1-2) took advantage of a Pirates error and plated a pair of runs against East Carolina (2-1) freshman starter Sean Jenkins in the top of the first inning.

Freshman left fielder Lucas Alberti led off with a walk and graduate student designated hitter Sam Lavin reached on a fielding error.  After both players moved up a base on a double steal, junior center fielder James Quinn-Irons plated a run with a groundout and sophomore right fielder Owen Hull drove in another with a sacrifice bunt to put the Patriots up, 2-0.

In the top of the fourth, Quinn-Irons jumped on the first pitch he saw to leadoff the inning, belting his first home run of the season to straightaway center to make it a 3-0 game.

The Pirates then scored a single run in each of the next three innings.

In the bottom of the fifth, East Carolina loaded the bases with two outs and scored an unearned run on an error to cut the Patriots lead to 3-1.

The Pirates got another run back in the home half of the sixth against George Mason senior reliever Britt Yount.  East Carolina sophomore first baseman Colby Wallace led off with a double and moved to third on a single by junior right fielder Jack Herring.  Wallace scored on a double play to make it a one-run game, 3-2.

The Patriots made the call to the bullpen after the stretch and sophomore reliever Shaun Okeeffe struck out the first two batters he faced before Pirates freshman center fielder Alex Peltier hit a solo home run to left to tie the game, 3-3.

George Mason sophomore reliever Cole Egan entered the game in the seventh and recorded the final out of the inning and then retired the side in order in the eighth.  In the bottom of the ninth, East Carolina junior shortstop Alex Bouche hit a leadoff home run that just cleared the fence in right field to lift the Pirates to the 4-3 walk-off win.

For the Patriots, O'Hara allowed just one unearned run on five hits with six strikeouts and one walk over 5.0 innings in his George Mason debut.  Yount gave up one run on two hits in 1.0 inning.  Okeeffe was charged with one run on one hit and retired two batters.  Egan (0-1) surrendered one run on one hit in 1.1 innings and took the loss.

The Pirates used six pitchers in the game.  Jenkins allowed three runs, one earned, and gave up the Patriots lone hit of the game over 5.2 innings.  Sophomore Jackson DiLorenzo (2-0) pitched the ninth and earned the win.  The East Carolina bullpen tossed 3.1 hitless innings.

Quinn-Irons went 1-2 with two RBI, two walks and recorded the Patriots lone hit of the game with his leadoff home run in the fourth inning.

The Patriots host Georgetown in the home opener on Wednesday, Feb. 19 with the first pitch scheduled for 2 p.m. at Spuhler Field.