The Patriots completed their first unbeaten week since late February as they won all five games last week. George Mason, which has won six straight games and seven of its last eight, defeated Maryland-Baltimore County Tuesday, 13-9, and Howard Wednesday, 20-1, at home before sweeping a three-game Colonial Athletic Association series at East Carolina over the weekend, winning 27-17 Saturday and by scores of 8-2 and 6-3 Sunday to improve to 19-18 overall, 7-8 in the CAA.
George Mason rallied from a 5-0 deficit with 13 consecutive runs to defeat UMBC Tuesday at Raymond H. "Hap" Spuhler Field. The Retrievers scored five runs in the first two innings before the Patriots began their rally in the third as freshman Greg Filson (3-5, two runs batted in) hit his first career home run and junior Andy Devitt blasted his third homer, a two-run shot, to cut the margin to 5-3. Sophomore Scott Morrison (2-5) hit his third homer, a two-run blast, in the fourth to tie the score, and the Patriots added three runs in the fifth, one in the sixth and four in the seventh to take a 13-5 lead. Freshman Mark Gibbs led the Patriots' 18-hit attack by going 4-4, and senior Drew Johnson came on in relief and pitched 4 innings to earn his first victory of the week.
The Patriots scored in five of the six innings they batted as they defeated Howard Wednesday in a seven-inning game. George Mason took a 4-0 lead in the first inning as junior Trey Mosgovoy (2-5, 5 RBI) hit a grand slam home run, his sixth homer of the season. The Patriots added three runs in the second, eight in the third, three in the fourth and two in the sixth for the 20-run total. Senior J.K. Ronay (Robinson HS) hit his first career home run, a three-run `last, in the fourth as he was 2 Junior Tom McGinn (Lake Braddock HS), returning from a bout with a sore shoulder to pitch for the first time since March 16, improved to 3-2 as he earned the victory.
George Mason completed its second sweep (1993 and 1997) in its last three trips t East Carolina over the weekend. The Patriots have won eight of their last nine gamesinst the Pirates in Greenville, and with three wins in four games to claim the 1992 CAA championship, they have won 11 of their last 13 games at Harrington Field.
Saturday's contest was a slugfest in the wind and rain as the two teams combined for 44 runs and 43 hits. George Mason set a school record with seven home runs as junior Mike Colangelo (Hylton HS) and junior Jody Rutherford (Fairfax HS) each hit two homers, Rutherford's being the first of his career. Both of Colangelo's blasts were opposite-field shots off the scoreboard in right-center field. Junior Lee Kansteiner (Robinson HS), Filson and senior Rick Visconti also hit homers, with i#'s being a pinch-hit grand slam in the sixth inning. Johnson (2-1) picked up his second victory of the week as he pitched three innings.
Junior Shawn Camp (Robinson HS) pitched a one-hit complete game in Sunday's seven-inning first contest. Camp (4-2) allowed two unearned runs, walked three and struck out 10, increasing his career strikeout total to 150, one short of John Fulcher's school record. In three starts against the Pirates over the past two seasons, Camp has not allowed an earned run (four runs and nine hits total) in 21 innings. Filson was the offensive hero as he was 3-3 with 2 RBI, while Rutherford (2-3) and sophomore Trevor Haas (South Lakes HS) also added 2 RBI.
Freshman Derek Ashcraft (3-0) won his first career start in the second game as he pitched seven solid innings, allowing one run and six hits while walking three and fanning six. Colangelo again put on an offensive show as he was 4-5 and drove in two runs, and Rutherford was 3-3 with 2 RBI.
For the week, Colangelo batted .632 (12-19) with three doubles, a triple, two homers and 12 RBI. He currently leads George Mason in batting (.420), hits (55), doubles (16), triples (7), RBI (51), slugging (.763) and on-base percentage (.524). Filson batted .667 (10-15) with two homers and eight RBI for the week to raise his average to .367, while Rutherford batted .421 (8-19) with two homers and 10 RBI over the five games to raise his season average to .328. Ashcraft leads the Patriots with a 2.70 earned run average, while Camp checks in with a 3.76 ERA.
The Patriots host Towson State Tuesday at 3 p.m., then they travel to Joe Cannon Stadium to meet Coppin State Thursday at 7 p.m. George Mason returns to Spuhler Field to entertain James Madison in a three-game CAA series over the weekend, with a doubleheader Saturday and a single game Sunday both slated to begin at 1 p.m.
Baseball Contact: Ben Trittipoe (993-3263)