A Lot of Lotti: Three Strikes, You're Out

Mason Hits Four Home Runs During the Week

By Broadside Sports Editor Brian Chan

After the alteration between wins and losses in the past two weeks, the George
Mason University Patriots finally had a two-game winning streaking work in their favor as they swept the Mount St. Mary’s University Mount on Wednesday.

Mason (12-11) manhandled the Mount (2-15) in just five innings in their 10-2 win in the first game. The offense racked up 12 hits and never looked back after getting off to a hot start.

Freshman third baseman Tori Dudley and freshman first baseman Morgan Davis each recorded three RBIs. Both had two extra base-hits. Dudley led Mason with three runs in the game while Davis went a perfect 3-for-3 in the first game.

Mason shot out of the gates, scoring five runs in the bottom of the first inning despite allowing the Mount to score a run in the top half of the inning. Senior center fielder Alison Bryan led off with a single, followed by a walk from freshman second baseman Alyssa See. Dudley drilled the pitch from pitcher Amanda Sadowl (0-4) to left center to put Mason ahead 3-1. The offense continued to explode for more
hits as freshman pitcher Miranda Cranford singled to left field and Davis doubled to
center. Freshman right fielder India Adams drove in Cranford and Davis with a double.
The Mount answered with another run in the top of the second inning as left fielder
Katie Donovan hit an RBI single, scoring first baseman Liz Christiansen. Dudley hit a oneout triple in the bottom half of the inning and Davis extended Mason’s lead to 6-1 with another double.

Even though the Mason offense kept swinging the bats, the team took a more patient
approach in the bottom of the third inning. Pitcher Amanda Hanson walked Cranford with the bases loaded, scoring See from third base. Three Mason batters walked in just the third inning. Davis singled in two more runs as Mason took a commanding 10-2 lead.

The Mount’s best runscoring opportunity came in the top of the fourth inning when
they had runners on first and third base. Shortstop Jenna Zimmerman grounded out to end the inning. Mason was not able to add more runs, but Cranford pitched a perfect fifth inning to end the game due to the eight-run mercy rule.

After striking out 15 times against the University of Albany Great Danes in their 10-2 loss last week, every single player reached base at least once. To go along with the 12 hits, Mason also had five walks. Mason chased Sadowl away as the Mount pitcher lasted for only 1/3 of an inning. Bryan went 2-for-3 and recorded an RBI, and senior left fielder Meghan Hill also recorded two hits for Mason. Cranford (5-2) pitched her seventh complete game after allowing two runs on five hits while striking out one batter without giving up any walks. After Mason displayed their explosive offense, they settled for just two hits in the second game, which was good enough to give them the victory. Mason (13-11) scored two runs in the sixth inning to rally past the Mount (2-16) for a 2-1 win.

Mason sent ace pitcher Becky Anderson to the hill while the Mount countered with their starting pitcher Jamie Fowler. Both offenses struggled to put runs on the board against the two pitchers. Anderson (7-6) gave up five hits in seven innings of work and struck out nine batters. Fowler (2-8), on the other hand, allowed two hits and two runs while striking out eight and walking three batters.

The Mount had bases loaded with only one out in the top of the first inning after three consecutive singles, but Anderson struck out the final two batters to end the threat. After that, no team was able to get a hit off either pitcher until the top of the fifth inning when center fielder Taylor Beebe doubled in Donovan, scoring the game’s first run. Looking to respond, Anderson led off the bottom of the fifth inning with a single, but Mason was unable to move her over and ended up empty-handed again.

Mason’s luck would come through in the bottom of the sixth inning when freshman
third baseman Rachael Davies drew a one-out walk. Dudley, who homered in the earlier game, hit her second home run to left field to give Mason the upper hand. Mason prevailed in the seventh inning after allowing a runner to get in scoring position.

Mason, winners of three of the last four games, succeeded in winning their 10th home game of the season. Anderson continues to be the dominant pitcher, lowering her ERA to 2.16. She currently leads the CAA with 84-1/3 innings pitched. She ranks second in the conference with seven wins, trailing Jenny Clohan of the James Madison University Dukes. On the offensive side, Dudley continues to be a major
impact on the team this season. She leads the CAA with 17 runs scored, and is tied at the top with 36 total bases, 11 of which came from Wednesday’s doubleheader.

After being picked to finish last in the preseason poll, Mason came into Saturday’s
doubleheader against the Hofstra University Pride with confidence.

Pitcher Kayleigh Lotti (7-4) threw a one-hitter while striking out 14 batters as the Pride (8-11, 1-0) blanked Mason in their 7-0 win in the conference opener at George Mason Field.

Second baseman Casey Fee went 2-for-4 with three RBIs for the Pride. Left fielder Melissa Hodge added two hits, including a two-run triple in the sixth inning.

Cranford started the first game and allowed 10 hits and seven runs, three of which were earned. She also struck out six batters and gave up one walk.

Out of her 109 pitches, Lotti threw 74 strikes. She struck out five of the first six batters.

The two-time CAA Pitcher of the Year continued her dominance against Mason. She holds a perfect 5-0 record against Mason in her career. Saturday’s win marked her
third one-hitter against Mason, and recorded the most strikeouts against the team. In 35 innings against Mason for four years, Lotti gave up just nine hits while striking out 59 batters. In 2007, she pitched two one-hitters against Mason. Last season, she pitched a two-hitter while striking out 12 batters.
Anderson recorded Mason’s lone hit off Lotti.

However, Mason took a 3-2 lead in the second inning after Anderson homered to straightaway center field. Mason (13-13, 0-2) could not hold their lead as the Pride (9-11, 2-0) scored five runs in the fourth inning to go on to defeat Mason 10-6 in the second game.

Anderson had a triple and home run and racked up five RBIs. Despite her strong offensive performance, Anderson (7-7) struggled in pitching. She gave up 13 hits and ten runs, but struggled to get out of a couple of bases-loaded
situations.

The Pride had bases loaded with none out in the fourth inning, but Anderson recorded two quick outs by giving up a run-scoring groundout and a pop out. Catcher Carolann Lubach kept the inning alive for the Pride with a two-run double.
The Pride added three more runs in the fifth inning to extend their lead to 10-3.

“The errors definitely did not help our cause because we were playing cautious.
Sometimes once we get errors, we just let them keep going and going. I think the errors set the tone in a bad way,” said Anderson.

Mason loaded the bases in the sixth inning. See bunted for a single, Davies reached on a fielding error by Fee. After Dudley struck out and Cranford hit into a fielder’s choice, Davis walked for the second time in the game. Anderson sent the pitch between the center fielder Erika Bernstein and right fielder Kris Root.

Pitcher Erin Wade (2-4) started for the Pride, giving up six runs on six hits. She struck out six batters while walking two. Wade came into the game without allowing a home run. She gave up the first home run to Cranford in the second inning.

Cranford hit her teamleading third home run of the season, cutting Hofstra’s lead in
half. After Davis walked, Anderson homered in nearly the same location of Cranford’s home run.

“I knew that Hofstra is a good team, and the only way I was going to hit [the home run] was to be aggressive and take every swing I could, so I just really tried to focus in on the ball and get it done,” said Anderson.

Anderson’s sixth-inning triple was the second of her career.

Mason heads to Towson next week after playing 17 of their last 21 games at home.
“We are getting more comfortable with our field and we know we can win [at home], but we just want to prove we can win over there at Towson,” said Anderson.