BASEBALL at #4 North Carolina
WHEN: Tuesday, April 29 (4 p.m.)
WHERE: Boshamer Stadium | Chapel Hill, N.C.
ALL-TIME SERIES: North Carolina leads, 9-0
LAST MEETING: The Tarheels won 13-3 against the Patriots on March 11, 2014 in Chapel Hill, N.C.
GAME NOTES: Click here
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CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – The Patriots on are the road for a mid-week, non-conference matchup against No. 4 North Carolina on Tuesday with the first pitch scheduled for 4 p.m. in Chapel Hill, N.C.

This will be the first meeting between the two schools since March 11, 2014. In that game, the Tarheels defeated the Patriots 13-3 in Chapel Hill. In the all-time series, North Carolina has won all nine previous matchups. 

Last time out, the Patriots won the weekend series against Rhode Island by winning the first two games and now sit atop the Atlantic 10 Conference standings with a conference 14-7 record.

After a walk-off single by freshman left fielder Lucas Alberti to win Friday's game 5-4, the Patriots halted their Saturday game in the middle of the sixth inning due to severe weather. When the game resumed the following day, George Mason won Game 2 10-1. Rhode Island ultimately won they final game of the series with a 15-9 scoreline.

The Patriots have won 12 of their last 15 games and now have won six of their last seven A-10 series matchups.  George Mason has hit 21 home runs in the last 23 games.

Among NCAA leaders (as of April 28), the Patriots are third in the nation in batting average (.337) and sacrifice bunts (50), fifth in hits (505) and both on-base percentage (.445) and seventh in runs scored (410).

Junior outfielder James Quinn-Irons is batting .443 (77-for-174) in 44 starts in center field.  He leads the team in hits (77), doubles (19), home runs (13) and RBI (69), is second in runs scored (59) and stolen bases (25-30) and fourth in walks (26).

Among NCAA leaders, Quinn-Irons leads the nation in RBI (69, tied with Rhode Island's Jack Hopko), tied for second in total bases (139), third in hits (77), fourth in batting average (.443), seventh in doubles (19) and on-base percentage (.542), ninth in slugging percentage (.799) and 15^th in runs scored (59).

Sophomore utility player Owen Hull is hitting .404 (67-for-166) in 44 starts.  He paces the Patriots in runs scored (66), and stolen bases (30-34), is second in hits (67), doubles, (13) and home runs (7), walks (32) and for third in RBI (52).

Among NCAA leaders, Hull is tied for third in runs scored (66), 11^th in stolen bases (29), 24^th in batting average (.404) and on-base percentage (.515) and tied for 26^th in hits (67).

Junior infielder Owen Clyne is batting .341 (59-for-173) in 44 starts at shortstop.  He is third in hits (59), walks (32) and stolen bases (16-23), fourth in RBI (48), home runs (4) and and runs scored (44).

Sophomore infielder Jake Butler has a .327 average (54-for-165) in 44 starts.  He is second on the club in RBI (57), tied for fourth in home runs (4), hits (54) and stolen bases (15-17) and fifth in runs scored (35).

On the mound, graduate student Connor O'Hara (6-2, 1.95) leads the team in starts (12), innings pitched (69.1) and strikeouts (70).  Junior Brandon Cassedy (5-1, 3.77) is second in innings pitched (59.2) and strikeouts (56).  Graduate student Sam Lavin (3-0, 5.59) is third in innings pitched (48.1) and strikeouts (39). 

Graduate student Gardner Meeks is second on the club in appearances (18) and shares the team lead the team in saves (3) with other graduate student pitcher Daniel Elliott.  

George Mason has 16 returners and added 21 newcomers on the roster heading into the season under Shawn Camp, who enters his third year as the head coach of the Patriots. 

The George Mason baseball team was picked to finish ninth (58 points) in the Atlantic 10 Conference this season.  The preseason poll was conducted by the league's 13 head coaches.

The Patriots have a team batting average of .337 and a team ERA of 4.69 through 44 games.

SCOUTING NO. 4 NORTH CAROLINA

North Carolina has an overall record of 33-10 this season including a mark of 15-9 against Atlantic Coast Conference opponents.  The Tarheels are 21-5 at home, 10-5 on the road and are currently third in the ACC standings.

The Tarheels won their most recent weekend series against ACC foe Pittsburgh (April 25-27) by taking two of three games. They won the Friday game 15-5, lost the Saturday game 4-2 and clinched the series win on Sunday with a 6-0 shutout victory.

North Carolina has now won 10 of their last 12 games.

Graduate student infielder Hunter Stokley is hitting .323 (54-for-167) in 43 starts. He leads the club in hits (54), RBI (47) and total bases (94) and is second in batting average (.323) and slugging percentage (.563).

Sophomore catcher Luke Stevenson has a .275 batting average (41-for-149) in 43 starts.  He paces the Tarheels in home runs (15), slugging percentage (.617) and walks (50) and is second in runs scored (45) and total bases (92).

Graduate student infielder Alex Madera leads the team in batting average with .327 (52-for-159) in 43 starts.

On the mound, graduate student Jake Knapp (9-0, 2.14, 10 starts) leads the team in innings pitched (63.0) and strikeouts (63).  Sophomore Jason DeCaro (6-3, 3.70, 11 starts) is second in innings pitched (58.1) and third in strikeouts (45).  Senior Aiden Haugh (4-4, 3.27, 11 starts) is second in strikeouts (62) and third in innings pitched (55.0).

The Tarheels have a team batting average of .280 and a team ERA of 3.49 through 43 games.

ABOUT THE PATRIOTS

Mason has 16 returners and added 21 newcomers on the roster heading into the season under Shawn Camp, who enters his third year as the head coach of the Patriots.  He is assisted by Tyler Nelin, Tommy Winterstein, Evan Duhon and Kyle Darmstead.
 
Pitcher Britt Yount is the lone senior on the club.  The junior class includes pitchers Owen Stewart (RHP), Connor Knox (RHP) and Logan Rumberg (RHP), infielder Evan Blanchard and outfielder James Quinn-Irons.
 
Sophomores returning for their second year with the Green and Gold are pitchers Ty Uchman (LHP), Brandt Ertel (RHP), Ryan Edmonds (RHP), Dylan McCarthy (RHP), Cole Egan (LHP) and Shaun Okeeffe (RHP) along with outfielder Jake Kozlowski.
 
The Patriots added 21 new players, with 13 freshman, one junior and four graduate students entering their first year at George Mason.
 
New pitchers joining the Patriots are graduate students Ryan Ament (LHP), Daniel Elliott (RHP), Louden Hilliard (RHP), Sam Lavin (RHP), Gardner Meeks (RHP) and Connor O'Hara (RHP), junior Brandon Cassedy (RHP) and freshmen Michael Bilo (RHP), Jake Drumm (RHP) and Michael Madigan (LHP).
 
New position players include two graduate students, catcher Nick Barenz and infielder Jonny Wall.  Juniors include infielder Owen Clyne, outfielders Lucas Alberti, Drew Canody and Laken Tignor, and catcher Garrett Pancione.  

Freshmen position players embarking on their rookie year are infielders Ty Tomlinson and Jake Stanley, outfielder Tripp Capers and catcher Andrew Raymond.
 
GEORGE MASON 2025 SCHEDULE
 
The George Mason baseball team is scheduled to play a 55-game slate that includes 30 contests against Atlantic 10 Conference rivals, 28 games at Spuhler Field, 12 games against six opposing teams that earned a NCAA Regional appearance and two games against opponents that advanced to the College World Series last season.

The Patriots began the season with three games at East Carolina (Feb. 14-15) at Clark-LeClair Stadium in Greenville, N.C.  George Mason won the first game of a doubleheader, 7-3, then dropped the nightcap, 4-3 on Feb. 14.  East Carolina won the series with a 4-3 victory in the finale on Feb. 15.

George Mason fell to Georgetown, 15-14, at Capital One Park in Tysons, Va. (Feb. 18).  The Patriots took two-of-three against St. Peter's (Feb. 21-23) at Spuhler Field.  The Patriots won the opener, 17-2 in seven innings and the series final, 14-4 in seven innings.  The Peacocks won the middle game, 10-7.

George Mason continued the homestand with a 12-1 win in seven innings over William & Mary (Feb. 25).  The Patriots swept a three-game series against Monmouth (Feb. 28-March 2) by final scores of 9-3, 12-11 and 16-2.

George Mason hosted Holy Cross (March 4) and the Patriots broke the NCAA Division I record for runs in an inning, scoring 23 times in the bottom of the second in a 26-6 win over Holy Cross in seven innings on Tuesday afternoon at Spuhler Field.  The previous Division I record for most runs in an inning had stood for nearly 42 years.  The record of 21 runs in an inning was set by the University of Pennsylvania in 1983 and again by Wichita State in 1984.

The Patriots defeated Georgetown 8-6 (March 7), Longwood 18-0 in seven innings (March 8) and Towson 7-5 (March 9) in the DMV Challenge at Capital One Park in Tysons, Va.

The Patriots traveled to take on Duke (March 11-12) in Durham, N.C.  The Blue Devils won both games by identical final scores of 6-3.  Duke played in the NCAA Norman Regional last year and notched wins over Bryant and South Carolina before falling to N.C. State in an elimination game.

George Mason began Atlantic 10 play with a three-game set at Spuhler Field against Dayton (March 14-15).  The Patriots dropped the first game, 8-2 and then swept a doubleheader, 8-0 and 11-5.  George Mason downed Towson (March 18) with a 5-4 walk-off win.
The Patriots played a season-high eight straight on the road March 21 through April 1. 

The stretch began with the first A-10 road series of the season at St. Bonaventure (March 21-23) where George Mason won two-of-three games.  The Patriots won the first two games, 21-2 and 14-5 while the Bonnies took the finale, 7-3.

George Mason traveled for a midweek meeting at Maryland (March 25) and fell to the Terrapins, 15-8.

The Patriots lost the first two games at rival George Washington (March 8-30), 4-3 and 87-7, and then won the finale, 11-1 in eight innings.

The longest road stretch of the season concluded with a 6-5 loss at James Madison (April 1) in Harrisonburg, Va.

In April, the Patriots are scheduled to play 17 games, with seven at home and 10 on the road.

George Mason swept a league series against Saint Louis (April 4-6) by final scores of 7-5, 7-2 and 8-6 (10).  The Patriots swept the Billikens in a three-game series for the first time in program history.

The Patriots traveled north and won at Towson (April 8) 15-3 in seven innings.

The Patriots hit the road for a weekend series at VCU (April 11-13) and won two-of-three at The Diamond in Richmond, Va.  The Patriots won the first game, 4-2 and the finale, 6-5.  The Rams took the middle game, 10-6.

George Mason wrapped up the season series against James Madison (April 15) with an 11-10 midweek win.

The Patriots won two-of-three at Massachusetts (April 18-20) in Amherst, Mass.  George Mason won the first game, 16-7 and the finale, 12-1 in eight innings.  The Minutemen won the middle game of the series, 2-1.

The Patriots traveled to western Maryland and picked up a 16-3 win in a midweek game at Mount St. Mary's (April 22) in Emmittsburg, Md.

Rhode Island makes a visit to Fairfax for three games (April 25-28) and the Patriots wrap up the month with a game at North Carolina (April 29) in Chapel Hill, N.C.  The Tar Heels hosted the NCAA Chapel Hill Regional last year and defeated LSU to advance to the Super Regional.  North Carolina then won two games against West Virginia to advance to the College World Series.

In May, the Patriots are scheduled to play 11 games, with five at home and six on the road.

The month begins with a three-game A-10 series against Saint Joseph's (May 2-4).  The Patriots will then play five straight on the road with a stop at William & Mary (May 7) in Williamsburg, Va., a three-game conference series at Davidson (May 9-11) and conclude the trip against Virginia (May 13) in Charlottesville, Va.

The Cavaliers hosted and went unbeaten in three games in the NCAA Charlottesville Regional and two games in Super Regional last year to advance to the College World Series in Omaha, Neb.  The Cavaliers fell to North Carolina and Florida State in the College World Series. 

The Patriots wrap up the regular season at home with three games against Fordham (May 15-17).

The Patriots will play three home-and-home series during the 2025 season, taking on James Madison, Towson and William & Mary both at home and on the road.

Mason plays 10 league series, five at home and five on the road.

Home series against A-10 foes include three-game weekend sets against Dayton (March 14-16), Saint Louis (April 4-6), Rhode Island (April 25-27), Saint Joseph's (May 2-4) and Fordham (May 15-17).  The Patriots will visit St. Bonaventure (March 21-23), George Washington (March 28-30), VCU (April 11-13), Massachusetts (April 18-20) and Davidson (May 9-11).

The 2025 Atlantic 10 Baseball Championship will be held May 20-24 at Capital One Park in Tysons, Va.

STRIKE ZONE

George Mason and Rhode Island have met twice in the Atlantic 10 Baseball Championship with the Patriots winning both opening-round games.  Each contest has been played on May 24th.

In the first meeting, the Patriots hit three home runs and Mason hurlers combined for 10 strikeouts on the way to a 9-5 victory over the Rams on May 24, 2017 in St. Louis, Mo. 

In the 2022 A-10 Championship, the Patriots rallied for five runs in the top of the ninth inning to top the Rams, 7-3, on May 24, 2022 in Davidson, N.C.