Prince William Reporter

Patriots Down Maine for Fourth Straight Win

The George Mason baseball team won its fourth straight game with an 11-1 victory over Maine on Tuesday at Spuhler Field in Fairfax, Va.
 
The game was called due to run rule in the seventh with Mason leading by 10 runs.
 
Freshman Tyler Herkey tossed three innings to earn his first collegiate win.  Graduate student designated hitter Ryan Archibald, junior right fielder Derek Wood, sophomore catcher Connor Dykstra and sophomore shortstop Carsen Pracht each drove in two runs.
 
Mason (8-8) fell behind in the first inning when Maine (3-10) scored its lone run of the game on an error to take a 1-0 lead.
 
After a scoreless first inning, the Patriots scored 10 runs over the next four frames.
 
The Patriots took the lead for good in the bottom of the second against Maine junior starter Tyler Nielsen.
 
Freshman left fielder James Quinn-Irons led off with an infield single to short and went to second on a throwing error.  Archibald then belted his second home run of the season over the left-center field fence to put Mason in front, 2-1.
 
In the third, Wood led off with an infield single, stole second and advanced to third on a ground out.  Senior second baseman Brett Stallings then grounded to short, with Wood rumbling home to make the score 3-1.
 
Mason freshman Owen Stewart took over on the mound in the top of the fourth with a pair of runners on base and no outs.  He wiggled out of the jam with a foul out and an inning-ending double play grounder. 
 
The Patriots sent eight batters to the plate in the fourth and scored three more runs. 
 
Quinn-Irons got the inning started with an infield single and Archibald was hit by a pitch.  Both moved into scoring position on a double steal.  With one out, Quinn-Irons raced home on a wild pitch to increase the lead to 4-1.
 
After Dykstra was hit by a pitch to put runners on the corners, Pracht dropped down a perfect bunt to plate Archibald from third base for a 5-1 advantage.  Another wild pitch moved Pracht to second and Dykstra to third.  Wood then lifted a sacrifice fly to right, with Dykstra coasting across the plate to make it 6-1.
 
In the bottom of the fifth, Mason scored four runs on four hits.
 
Quinn-Irons got the rally started with a one-out single up the middle and Archibald walked.  Both players moved into scoring position on a failed pickoff attempt.  Sophomore first baseman Reece Woody sent a sacrifice fly to left field to knock in Quinn-Irons and Dykstra followed with a double down the left field line to expand the lead to 8-1.
 
Pracht and Wood then made it a 10-1 game with back-to-back RBI singles.
 
In the seventh, Archibald drew a one-out walk and sophomore Alex Knapp came into the game as a pinch-runner and stole second.  With two outs, Dykstra singled through the left side with Knapp racing around to score to end the game due to run rule, 11-1.
 
For the Patriots, Herkey (1-2) allowed two hits and no earned runs in 3.0 innings to pick up the win.  Stewart tossed 3.0 hitless innings and junior Christian Mracna pitched a hitless seventh.
 
For the Black Bears, Nielsen (0-2) surrendered 10 runs on nine hits in 5.0 innings and took the loss.  Junior Colton Carson pitched a clean sixth inning and junior Geoff Mosseau allowed one run on one hit in the seventh.
 
Archibald reached base all four of his trips to the plate with a home run, two walks and was hit by a pitch.  He drove in a pair of runs and scored three times.  Quinn-Irons was 3-for-4 with three singles and scored three runs.
 
Dykstra went 2-for-3 with two RBI and two runs scored.  Pracht was 2-for-3 with two RBI and one run scored.  Wood finished 2-for-2, drove in a run with a sacrifice fly and scored twice.
 
The Patriots host Cornell for a three-game series this weekend beginning with a doubleheader on Saturday.  First pitch for game one is scheduled for 11 a.m. at Spuhler Field. 

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