Softball Drops Heartbreaker to Madison

By Connect Mason Sports Director Damien Sordelett

After giving pitching ace Becky Anderson rest in their midweek series against North Carolina Central, George Mason coach Joe Verbanic was confident the sophomore pitcher would be able to pitch well enough to keep the Patriots within reach to beat James Madison.

Anderson did just that, but a lack of offense in game one and defensive lapses in game two would keep the Patriots out of the win column.

James Madison (26-20, 10-6 CAA) got a two-hit shutout from Meredith Felts in game one and used a three-run seventh inning to erase a two-run deficit in game two to sweep the doubleheader series against George Mason (19-28, 6-10 CAA) 2-0 and 6-5 before 106 at George Mason Field Saturday.

"Julia [Dominiquez] called a great game behind the plate both times," said Felts. "I had great defense behind me and I felt better today than I had in a long time."

After Felts (12-8) and Anderson (14-14) pitched gems in the first game, allowing a combined seven hits total, the offense came alive in the second game.

The Dukes jumped on Anderson early, plating three runs in the first. That would seem like an impossible hill to climb as Jenny Clohan was as dominant as Felts to start the game.

However, the third inning came and things began going Mason's way. The Patriots got three of their first four batters on base. Two batters later, Ashli Breau singled up the middle to drive in the tying run and chasing Clohan, who left with dehydration.

"We started playing really well as a team," said Anderson. "We were hitting the ball and everything was falling together for us."

The Patriots were looking good after adding two runs, a Katlyn Winter homer in the fourth and Anderson helping her cause with an RBI single in the fifth to stretch the lead to 5-3.

Then the fun began. Following a hit, error and sacrifice bunt, the Dukes had scored two runs with only the hit leaving the infield. After a single by Courtney Simons, Amber Kirk singled up the middle. Simons tried for third, but was thrown out. The ball got away from Winter at third, allowing Kirk to advance to third. A throw by Breau to get Kirk out at third was errant, allowing Kirk to score the eventual winning run.

"In the end, we were sort of playing a little tentative and we were afraid to make mistakes because we wanted to win for our seniors," said Anderson.

"We just put the ball in play and unfortunately, Mason made some mistakes," said James Madison coach Katie Flynn. "We were very aggressive on the base paths and ended up making them pay for the mistakes."

The last inning wasted a solid two-game performance from Anderson, who was credited with the loss despite only allowing three earned runs in the second game.

"It's just about making or not making plays and unfortunately today, we didn't make the plays and that happens sometimes," Verbanic said. "We played great all day, we battled back from a little adversity in the beginning and we fought."