Patriots take third game, series from Rams

George Mason defeated VCU this past Sunday, 9-2, to take two of three from the Rams.

“They did a good job of playing well and we played as hard as we could,” VCU coach Paul Keyes said.

The Patriots got things started in the second inning. The first two batters hit singles and then scored on the strength of junior starter Robbie Andrews’ (Covington/Alleghany) wild pitch and a Brent Weiss double into left centerfield.

The Rams struck back with two runs in the bottom of the third. After junior Richard Gonzalez (Caguas, Puerto Rico/PRBA) grounded out to second, juniors Andrew Dimino (Greenwood, Ind./Greenwood) and M.L. Morgan (Petersburg/Dinwiddie) both singled. Morgan and Dimino stole second and third, respectively, on a double steal. Junior Doug Otto (Jefferson City, Mo./Helias) was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Senior Justin Wright (Yorktown/Grafton) came up and hit a single to score Dimino and Morgan to tie the game at 2-2 after three innings.

Morgan and Dimino each finished the game 3 for 5.

Neither team scored another run until the fifth inning.

In the top of the fifth, an Andrews throwing error on a sacrifice bunt attempt allowed the Patriots to have runners on first and second with no outs. Those base runners scored on a single up the middle later in the inning to give the Patriots a 4-2 lead.

George Mason extended its lead to 5-2 in the top of the sixth after Ryan Soars crushed the first pitch of the inning over the left field fence for a solo homerun.

It looked as if the Rams tied the game in the bottom of the seventh.

VCU had runners on first and second with one out. Wright smacked a ball over the right field fence that the whole stadium thought was fair. The first base umpire called it foul and the stadium went into an uproar. Wright grounded into a double play to end the inning.

“From my angle I really couldn’t tell, I was at the end of the dugout,” Keyes said. “I was hoping it would hit the foul pole.”

That would be the last time VCU threatened to score.

“I think that led to the four runs on the backside,” Keyes said. “I think we lost a little momentum.”

George Mason added another run in the top of the eighth. The Patriots led off the inning with a triple and then got an RBI single from Justin Bour to increase the lead to 6-2 after seven innings.

The Patriots tacked on three more runs in the top of the ninth thanks to a sacrifice fly and a two-run double to give George Mason a 9-2 victory.

The difference in the game proved to be the quality and timing of the hits. While the Rams and Patriots both had 11 hits, the Rams managed only two runs.

“We seemed to bunch a lot of hits with two outs, but not the one to drive guys in,” Keyes said. “We didn’t get a ball up into the gap and they did.”

The loss dropped the Rams to 6-6 in the CAA and 18-14 overall. The Rams host the Virginia Cavaliers April 21 at 7 p.m.