BASEBALL vs. Saint Louis
WHEN: Friday, April 4 (2 p.m.) – Saturday, April 5 (1 p.m.) – Sunday, April 6 (12 p.m.)
WHERE: Spuhler Field | Fairfax, Va.
RECORDS: George Mason (17-12, 5-4 A-10), Saint Louis (16-12, 6-3 A-10)
ALL-TIME SERIES: Saint Louis, 20-8.
LAST MEETING: The Billikens won three games against the Patriots May 3-5, 2024 in St. Louis, Mo.
GAME NOTES: Click here 
WATCH: Click here
LIVE STATS: Click here

---

FAIRFAX, Va. – The George Mason baseball team hosts Saint Louis for the three-game series beginning Friday with the first pitch scheduled for 2 p.m. at Spuhler, Va.

In the last meeting between the teams, Saint Louis swept a three-game series May 3-4, 2024 at the Billiken Sports Complex in St. Louis, Mo.  The Billikens won by final scores of 4-3, 5-2 and 5-4 (10 innings).

George Mason faced Saint Louis three times in the 2023 Atlantic 10 Baseball Championship held at The Diamond in Richmond.  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 their second Atlantic 10 title in program history. 

Last time out, the Patriots wrapped up a stretch of eight straight games on the road with a 6-5 loss at James Madison on Tuesday in Harrisonburg, Va.

Among NCAA leaders, the Patriots have the fourth-most hits (323), are fourth in sacrifice bunts (28), eighth in both runs scored (272) and on-base percentage (.443) and 11th batting average (326).

Junior outfielder Quinn-Irons is batting .441 (52-for-118) in 29 starts in center field.  He leads the team in hits (52), doubles (12) and home runs (7), is tied for first in RBI (41), second in both runs scored (42) and stolen bases (14-19) and tied for fourth in walks (17).

Sophomore utility player Owen Hull is hitting .369 (41-for-111) in 29 starts.  He paces the Patriots in stolen bases (19-20) and runs scored (43), is second in hits (41), doubles (7) and home runs (4), tied for fourth in walks (17) and is fourth in RBI (31).

Junior infielder Owen Clyne has a .343 average (36-for-105) in 29 starts at shortstop.  He is second on the club in walks (21), tied for third in hits (36) and home runs (3), third in both RBI (35) and stolen bases (10-15) and fifth in runs scored (25).

Sophomore infielder Jake Butler is batting .327 (36-for-110) in 29 starts.  He is tied for first in RBI (41), tied for third in both hits (36) and home runs (3) and is fourth in runs scored (27).

On the mound, graduate student Connor O'Hara (3-2, 2.48) leads the team in starts (8), innings pitched (40.0) and strikeouts (42).  Graduate student Sam Lavin (3-0, 2.80) is second is innings pitched (35.1) and third in strikeouts (27).  Junior Brandon Cassedy (3-1, 3.31) is second in strikeouts (37) and third in innings pitched (32.2).  

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 .326 and a team ERA of 4.68 through 29 games.

PROBABLE STARTERS

Friday
George Mason: RHP Sam Lavin (3-0, 2.80)
Saint Louis: RHP Owen Kelly (2-0, 5.56)
 
Saturday
George Mason: RHP Connor O'Hara (3-2, 2.48)
Saint Louis: RHP Ben Cherico (2-2, 4.64)
 
Sunday
George Mason: RHP Brandon Cassedy (3-1, 3.31
Saint Louis: RHP Josh Cunningham (2-1, 6.26)
 
SCOUTING SAINT LOUIS

Saint Louis has an overall record of 16-12 this season including a mark of 6-3 against Atlantic 10 Conference opponents.  The Billikens are 9-4 at home, 6-7 on the road and 1-1 in games played at a neutral site.

On Tuesday, Saint Louis blanked Western Illinois, 6-0, at the Billiken Sports Complex to wrap up a five-game homestand.
 
Saint Louis has won each of its first three Atlantic 10 series this season.

Last weekend, the Billikens took two-of-three games at home against St. Bonaventure (March 28-29).  The Billikens won the opener, 10-9 (10) and the finale, 7-3 while the Bonnies won the middle game of the series, 9-7 (10).

Saint Louis won two-of-three at Dayton (March 21-22).  The Billikens won the first two games, 8-4 and 7-3 while the Flyers salvaged the finale, 6-5.

The Billikens began their A-10 slate with two wins in a three-game series at home against Saint Joseph's.  The Hawks won the opener, 5-4 and the Billikens claimed the final two games, 3-2 and 8-4.

Sophomore first baseman Riley Iffrig is hitting .392 (38-for-97) in 28 starts.  He leads the team in hits (38), doubles, (12) and RBI (33), is tied for second in home runs (4) and tied for third in runs scored (19).

Sophomore outfielder Brenden Stressler is batting .306 (3-for-108) in 28 starts.  He leads the club in home runs (6), is second in hits (33), triples (2) and RBI (26) and is tied for third in runs scored (19).

The Billikens have a team batting average of .262 and a team ERA of 6.20 through 28 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.

In March, George Mason is scheduled to play 19 games with 10 at home and nine on the road. 

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 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 is back home for a league series against Saint Louis (April 4-6) before a traveling north for a midweek game at Towson (April 8).

The Patriots hit the road for three games at VCU (April 11-13) at The Diamond in Richmond, Va.  The Rams won the A-10 Tournament last year to advance to the NCAA Greenville Regional.

George Mason is back at home to wrap up the season series against James Madison (April 15) before heading back on the road to face Massachusetts (April 18-20) in Amherst, Mass.

The Patriots stay on the road with 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 faced Saint Louis three times in the 2023 Atlantic 10 Baseball Championship held at The Diamond in Richmond, Va.  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. 

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.