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'96 CAA Baseball Championship Page
BASEBALL NEWS
May 13, 1996
Go to
'96 CAA Baseball Championship Page
BASEBALL NEWS
May 13, 1996
FAIRFAX, VA., May 13, 1996 ... After a week off to concentrate on final exams, the George Mason University baseball team is ready to return to action this week in the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament at Grainger Stadium in Kinston, N.C.
George Mason brings a 25-27 overall record and 12-9 mark in the CAA into Tuesday's first round as the fourth seed. The Patriots meet fifth seed East Carolina (21-22, 10-11 CAA) at 7:30 p.m. in the final game of the day. Other first-round matchups include third seed Virginia Commonwealth (32-20, 11-7) against No. 6 James Madison (30-23, 9-11) at 9 a.m., No. 2 Richmond (27-23, 13-7) vs. No. 7 UNC Wilmington (26-28, 9-11) at 12:30 p.m., and top seed Old Dominion (35-15, 13-7) faces No. 8 William & Mary (21-22, 2-16) at 4 p.m.
The Patriots took two of three games from East Carolina in Fairfax on Easter weekend (April 6-7), sweeping Saturday's doubleheader by scores of 4-3 (in 10 innings) and 5-1 before dropping Sunday's finale, 12-2. Sophomore right-hander Shawn Camp (Robinson HS) made his debut as a starting pitcher in Saturday's second game that weekend and he brings a 6-1 record and 3.52 earned run average into the matchup with East Carolina sophomore right-hander Patrick Dunham (7-4) in Tuesday's tournament opener.
Junior left-hander John Fulcher (Stonewall Jackson HS), who is 6-3 with a 5.00 ERA, is scheduled to pitch in George Mason's second game, with sophomore righty Tom McGinn (Lake Braddock HS), at 4-5 with a 5.07 ERA, set for Game 3.
Sophomore Mike Colangelo (Hylton HS) and junior Adam Virant, both of whom were selected to the All-CAA second team, join junior Rick Visconti in leading the George Mason offense into the tournament. Center fielder Colangelo leads the Patriots with a .358 average and adds 10 doubles, six triples (leads the CAA and ranks 15th in the nation), five home runs and 37 runs batted in. Catcher Virant is batting .317 with six doubles, two homers and 26 RBI, while right fielder Visconti has been on a tear recently, batting .442 with 25 RBI over his last 20 games to lift his season average to .344 with 12 doubles (leads GMU), four homers and 44 RBI.
Senior third baseman Jay Burkhart has also been hot over the past three weeks with nine home runs and 28 RBI in his last 20 games to lift his team-leading totals to 13 homers and 53 RBI. Other top hitters for the Patriots include freshman designated hitter Trevor Haas (South Lakes HS), who is batting .327 with 11 doubles and 21 RBI; sophomore first baseman Lee Kansteiner (Robinson HS), who is batting .311 with six homers and 34 RBI; and senior shortstop Brad Midgett, who is batting .284 and leads the club with 13 stolen bases.
"East Carolina will certainly be a tough matchup for us," said Patriots head coach Bill Brown, who brings a 15-year record of 415-358-3 into the tournament. "Every team in the conference has the pitching to dominate a game on a given day. We need to go out and play flawless baseball to be successful in this tournament."