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FAIRFAX, Va. – The George Mason Patriots scored all four of their runs on four Saint Joseph's errors in a tightly contested 4-3 win over the Hawks in Saturday afternoon's game at Spuhler Field in Fairfax, Va. The Patriots have now won their seventh Atlantic 10 Conference series on the season and improved their conference record to 16-7.

THE LEADOFF

• Graduate student pitcher Connor O'Hara won his second consecutive decision on the mound, giving the starter his conference-leading seventh win of the season
• Graduate student reliever Gardner Meeks notched his fourth save of the season after pitching four scoreless innings to close out the game.
• Outfielders Owen Hull, James Quinn-Irons and Lucas Alberti all collected multi-hit games and recorded one run each. Designated hitter Drew Canody was the other Patriot that scored a run.
• The Patriot defense turned two crucial double plays to prevent the Hawks from scoring; the first was an inning-ending double play in the fourth inning and the second was to empty the bases in the eighth.
• The Patriots have won 14 of their last 18 games and now have won 11 of their last 12 home games. They now hold a 18-3 record at Spuhler Field.

After a scoreless first inning from both teams to start the game, George Mason (31-16, 16-7 A-10) struck first in the bottom of the second. Leadoff hitter Lucas Alberti singled up the middle and diligently slid into second due to a throwing error by the Saint Joseph's center fielder Alex Kelsey. Alberti then advanced to third on balk committed by Hawk starting pitcher Nathan Stein. With one out, sophomore second baseman Toby Hueber grounded out to second but placed the ball deep enough in the infield to score Alberti from third.

The Patriots carried a 1-0 lead up until the fourth inning, where Saint Joseph's (21-22, 14-9 A-10) put up two runs and took the lead. After leadoff hitter Carson Applegate flew out to center fielder Quinn-Irons in three pitches, the Hawks strung together four consecutive hits.

Junior left fielder Joey Pagano started the rally with a single to left field, followed with another single from junior third baseman Owen Petrich through the right side. Freshman designated hitter Blake Primrose tied the game with a double down the left field line, scoring Pagano. Patriot left fielder Alberti was able to quickly track the ball in the corner and throw it back into the infield to prevent Petrich from scoring. Petrich eventually scored, however, when sophomore second baseman Tim Dickinson lined an RBI single to right center.

The Hawks had taken the 2-1 lead and were threatening to add to their fourth inning rally, as there was only one out. George Mason's starting pitcher Connor O'Hara was able to get out of the inning the very next at-bat, as graduate student catcher Aidan Duda grounded into an inning-ending double play at short.

George Mason could not convert their two runners on base in the bottom of the fourth. The Patriots would leave a total of eight runners on base in Saturday's game.

The fifth inning proved to be the pivotal moment of the game, as both teams would score their last runs of the game. The Hawks extended their lead in the top of the inning with an Applegate RBI sacrifice fly to left that scored sophomore right fielder Joey Gale from third. Saint Joseph's Kelsey was in scoring position at second when Pagano lined out to Patriot first baseman Jonny Wall to end the inning.

In the bottom of the fifth, the Hawks committed three more errors that resulted in three runs for George Mason. After leadoff man Drew Canody singled through the right side and advanced to second off Owen Clyne's groundout to short, he advanced to third on a throwing error by pitcher Nathan Stein on a failed pickoff attempt. Canody would then score on an Owen Hull RBI single to right center, cutting the Hawk lead to just one run.

James Quinn-Irons, the following Patriot batter, then created havoc on the basepaths with a game-tying hit. After lifting a single to right on a 1-1 count, Hull slid into third to beat out the relay throw from shortstop Applegate. Quinn-Irons took the opportunity and slid to second to beat out third baseman Petrich's throw to second baseman Tim Dickinson. Hull popped back up on third and scored by sliding home, beating out Dickinson's throw to home. Saint Joseph's catcher Duda could not cleanly field the ball, and Quinn-Iron's took third because of it. When the dust settled and the umpires confirmed the replay review, the Patriots had tied the game at 3-3.

The third and final Patriot run of the inning came after sophomore third baseman Jake Butler hit an RBI sacrifice fly to left on the first pitch of his at-bat. Quinn-Irons tagged up and touched home, giving George Mason a 4-3 lead.

Where the first half of the game saw a combined 13 hits and seven runs scored, the second half featured a pitchers' duel between relievers Gardner Meeks and Luke Parise. Zero runs were scored and only five hits were recorded between the two teams in the final four innings.

Both George Mason and Saint Joseph's threatened to score in the eighth. In the top of the inning, Pagano led off with a single through the right side, but his journey around the bases quickly came to an end after Petrich grounded into the game's second double play on the first pitch of his at-bat on an acrobatic throw from shortstop Clyne.

For the Patriots in the bottom of the inning, freshman catcher Andrew Raymond was on third and sophomore second baseman Toby Hueber was on second with two out. Designated hitter Canody hit a flyball to left that died just short of the wall. The Patriots entered the top of the ninth with the slim 4-3 lead.

Saint Joseph's began the late-game rally with Dickinson drawing a five pitch leadoff walk. Duda, the second batter of the inning, laid down a sacrifice bunt that advanced the potential tying run to second. Dickinson would ultimately be left stranded at second, as Meeks notched his team-leading fourth save of the season by striking out pinch hitter Colin Myers and fouling out Joey Gale to first baseman Jonny Wall.

The Patriots will finish the series tomorrow, Sunday, May 4, with first pitch being scheduled for noon at Spuhler Field. Livestats can be found here, and the game can be watched on ESPN+. Sunday's finale will also feature Paw Wars.