The Patriots split four games last week, all at home. George Mason defeated Towson State Tuesday, 8-2, before dropping two of three games to James Madison over the weekend. The Patriots lost 10-6 `nd 4-2 to the Dukes Saturday, but came back with a 14-9 victory Sunday to improve their overall record to 21-20 and their mark in the Colonial Athletic Association to 8-10.
George Mason scored five runs in the bottom of the first inning and cruised to victory over Towson State Tuesday at Raymod H. "Hap" Spuhler Field. It was the seventh straight victory for the Patriots, theirgest winning streak of the season. The Patriots got all the runs they would need in the first inning as they took advantage of three walks, a hit batter, an error and junior Trey Mosgovoy's two-run single for a 5-0 lead. Junior Tom McGinn (Lake Braddock HS) improved to 4-2 as he allowed four hits, walked two and struck out six in six innings.
Travis Harper and Aaron Sams stopped the Patriots Saturday as each pitched a complete game to lead James Madison to its first doubleheader sweep in Fairfax since 1988. Freshman Greg Filson (DeMatha HS) was 3-5 with two RBI in the first game, and Mosgovoy gave the Patriots a short-lived 5-3 lead with a th0a1 home run in the fourth. Freshman Kevin Kawecki (3-3) came on in the second inning and pitched well, but he was tagged for his second straight loss.
In the second game, junior Shawn Camp (Robinson HS) matched Sams into the seventh before the Dukes pushed two runs across the plate after two were out. Mosgovoy's solo homer in the fourth capped a two-run inning that tied the score at 2-2. Camp (4-3) pitched his third complete game and, with three strikeouts, became George Mason's all-time strikeout leader with 153, surpassing the total of 151 set last season by John Fulcher.
Sophomore Trevor Haas (South Lakes HS) set an unofficial school record by going 5-5 to lead George Mason to victory Sunday. Haas, who also had four runs scored and four RBI, gave the Patriots a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning with a two-run home run, his fourth of the season. His two-run single in the second sparked the Patriots to four more runs and a 6-2 lead. He added singles in the fourth, sixth and seventh innings. His record is unofficial since single-game records have only been kept since 1992. Mosgovoy, who hit his ninth homer in the eighth, junior Chris Martine and freshman Mark Gibbs (St. John's HS) each added two hits for the Patriots in their 15-hit attack, while freshman Derek Ashcraft (4-0) earned the victory on the mound.
Junior Mike Colangelo (Hylton HS), who was tied for third in the nation with an average of 0.19 triples per game (seven in 37 games) last week, continues to lead the Patriots with a .406 batting average, 16 doubles, seven triples, five home runs and 52 RBI. Haas is batting .366 with four homers, 25 RBI and leads the team with 10 stolen bases, while Filson is hitting .365 with two homers and 24 RBI. Mosgovoy, who leads the Patriots with nine homers and is second with 40 RBI, is batting .286.
The Patriots remain at home this week as they host nationally ranked Delaware Wednesday at 3 p.m., then entertain Old Dominion over the weekend in the final CAA series for both teams. The Patriots and Monarchs meet in a doubleheader Saturday at 1 p.m., and in a single game Sunday at 1 p.m.
Baseball Contact: Ben Trittipoe (993-3263)