Turning in 18

By Broadside Correspondent John Kleeb

The baseball team (22-5, 5-2) won their 18th consecutive home game in their 4-2 win over the UNC-Wilmington Seahawks (17-8, 5-2) on Friday. Timely hitting and defense in addition to the strong performance from junior pitcher Kevin Crum (4-2) helped the Patriots in their win.

The Patriots drew first blood in the second inning after sophomore third baseman Dan Palumbo and senior shortstop Brent Weiss hit consecutive singles to lead off the inning. Senior center fielder Spencer Wiggins hit a line drive that deflected off Seahawks pitcher Daniel Cropper (3-2), which scored Palumbo. Junior catcher Chris Henderson hit a sacrifice fly to drive in Weiss.

In the fifth inning, junior first baseman Justin Bour hit a towering shot that brought the home crowd to its feet. He is currently tied for the team lead with senior left fielder Scott Krieger with nine home runs.

In the sixth inning, the Seahawks got a run back. Left fielder Grayson Evans led off being hit with a pitch and was driven in when catcher Cody Stanley singled to center field. However, Crum did not panic and he got right fielder Bobby Leeper to ground in to an inning-ending double play.

Crum was pulled after seven strong innings and replaced by senior pitcher Shawn Griffith, who pitched a scoreless eighth inning. Junior pitcher Jordan Flasher was initially shaky after allowing a leadoff double to Stanley and an RBI single to pinch hitter Rhett Miller. However, Flasher caught a break with Miller running on a full count got designated hitter and designated hitter Alex Hill popping out to Weiss.

Miller was quickly doubled up, and Flasher struck out pinch hitter Aaron Jones looking to end the game, recording his fourth save of the season.
Mason matched their longest ever home-winning streak at 18 games.