Late Game Rally Sparks Mason Win

By Broadside Staff Writer Robert Dongu

The George Mason University baseball team turned their late-inning rally into a win on April 23, defeating Radford, 7-6, in extra innings and reaching the .500 mark for the first time this season.

Mason (20-20, 12-7 CAA) trailed Radford (16-24) 6-4 in the bottom of the ninth inning and were two outs away from falling to the Highlanders. But the Patriots scored a run off of a fielder’s choice and received an RBI double from sophomore Justin Bour, who increased his batting average to .435 for the season.

The Patriots continued to find ways to get on base in the tenth inning. After Mark Hill was hit by a pitch, Spencer Wiggins picked up another single. Then, Ryan Soares stepped up to the plate and hit four foul balls before notching the game-winning hit, a ground ball to left field.

“You don’t really think the game is on the line,” said Soares, a sophomore transfer from the University of South Florida. “You just try to get a pitch you can handle. I’ve just been seeing the ball really well.”
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Mason’s Kris Mengle pitched six innings, allowed five earned runs and struck out two. Then relievers Dan Gerjets and Ryan Brecko (6-1) stepped in and kept the Patriots in the game, surrendering just one run over four innings.

The Patriots started well offensively, scoring four runs in the 2nd inning and forcing Radford starting pitcher J.B. Blixt out of the game after 1.2 innings.

After Shane Davis scored the first run of the game, Ryan Uphouse found a fastball on the first pitch and belted a two-run home run.

But Radford came back in the fourth inning. Following an RBI single from Nick Minter, Will Naylor doubled to left field and brought home all three runners on base.

Despite Radford’s big inning, Mason’s Mengle remained on the mound, showing some of the resiliency that allowed the Patriots to force extra innings and pick up the victory.

“We’ve got energy at the back end of the game,” said Mason head coach Bill Brown. “We’re obviously good enough. We’re certainly capable of anything.”

Uphouse, who has five home runs this season, said that the team is ready to carry their momentum into their weekend games.

“We’ve been playing good the last couple games,” said Uphouse, who has five home runs for the season. “We’re ready to get started for the weekend.”