The George Mason baseball team had an up-and-down season that saw it finish with an overall record of 29-24, 10-11 and in fourth place in the Colonial Athletic Association.
Head coach Bill Brown's Patriots opened the season by winning seven of their first 10 games, including a 34-1 victory over Holy Cross in the team's home opener March 6 that saw George Mason set team records for runs, hits (28), runs batted in (28) and doubles (nine). Junior third baseman Trey Mosgovoy tied a school record with six RBI as he hit two home runs, his second multi-homer game of the year.
Following their 7-3 start, the Patriots lost 14 of their next 19 games to find themselves with a 12-17 mark at the beginning of April. George Mason turned its fortunes around, however, to win 17 of its next 22 contests to finish the regular season at 29-22. Unfortunately, the momentum did not carry over to the CAA Tournament in Kinston, NC, where the Patriots dropped two straight games to be eliminated from the tournament.
The George Mason offense established several records this season, both for a single game and for a season. The Patriots finished with a .314 batting average and .401 on-base percentage, shattering the marks of .306 and .390 set in 1985, and narrowly missed the record for runs with 416, finishing eight shy of the mark of 424 set in 1985. In addition to the single-game marks set against Holy Cross, George Mason set a record with seven home runs in a 27-17 victory over East Carolina April 12. The Patriot pitching staff set a school record with 387 strikeouts, surpassing the previous mark for the fourth straight season.
Junior center fielder Mike Colangelo had a tremendous season as he was an All-CAA and All-Virginia first-team selection and was named to the All-East Region second team. Colangelo led the CAA with a .418 batting average and seven triples, and he ranked second in the conference with 68 RBI. He finished the season leading the Patriots in batting, runs (62), hits (77), doubles (18), triples, RBI, stolen bases (14), walks (39), hit by pitch (11), slugging percentage (.707) and on-base percentage (.536). His season on-base percentage and his career percentage of .477 established George Mason records, as did his 14 career triples.
Other top hitters for the Patriots this season were freshman first baseman Greg Filson, who batted .370 with 12 doubles, three home runs and 36 RBI; sophomore second baseman Trevor Haas (first-team All-CAA, honorable mention All-Virginia), who batted .363 with nine doubles, five homers, 31 RBI and 11 stolen bases; sophomore third baseman/designated hitter Scott Morrison, who batted .311 with eight doubles, three homers and 32 RBI; and junior catcher Chris Martine, who finished the season with a 12-game hitting streak and batted .306 with 13 RBI.
On the mound, junior Shawn Camp became George Mason's all-time strikeouts leader with 175. Camp was 5-5 with a 4.16 earned run average for the season and led the Patriots with 84 innings pitched, 12 games started and 78 strikeouts. Freshman Derek Ashcraft was a pleasant surprise with a 5-0 record and a 3.55 ERA, and junior Tom McGinn was 4-4 with a 4.85 ERA. Junior reliever Chris Aronson led the team with 19 appearances and three saves.
Following the season, Camp, Colangelo and Martine raised the number of Patriots drafted by major league baseball organizations to 15 over the past 11 years. Camp was selected in the 16th round by the San Diego Padres, Colangelo was taken in the 21st round by the Anaheim Angels, and Martine was a 23rd-round choice by the St. Louis Cardinals.
Baseball Contact: Ben Trittipoe (993-3263)