Baseball Rallies in Ninth to Take 7-6 Win Over Hofstra :: Patritos survive six unearned runs to beat Pride in series opener

April 11, 2008

Hempstead, N.Y. - The George Mason baseball team did not surrender an unearned run in the first game of its three-game series with Hofstra on Friday but Mason still needed to rally in the ninth inning to beat the Pride, taking a 7-6 victory.

Mark Hill was 3 for 4 with three RBI, Justin Bour and Scott Krieger each head three hits and Chris Henderson had a pair of base knocks to lead Mason. The Patriots improved to 15-18 on the year, 9-6 in the CAA. Hofstra fell to 1-15 in the CAA, 12-23 overall.

Mason jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first as Spencer Wiggins walked, Ryan Soares singled and Justin Bour walked with one out to load the bases. Scott Krieger followed with an RBI single and with two outs, Mark Hill hit a two-run single down the leftfield line.

Hofstra responded in the second, scoring all six of its runs. With one out and a runner on second, Mason made back-to-back errors. Two make it 3-1. Back-to-back singles tied the game and a three-run home run capped the inning. Despite surrendering six unearned runs, Mason starter Dan Jaycox kept his composure and struck out the final two batters to end the inning. He struck out nine in the game, allowing seven hits and three walks and earning a no-decision.

In the third, Chris Henderson led off with a double, went to third on a Bour single and scored on a Shane Davis base hit. In the seventh, Mason tied the score at 6-6. Henderson and Bour led off the inning with back-to-back singles. A wild pitch moved Henderson to third and he scored on a Shane Davis sacrifice fly. Bour scored on a Hill double.

The game-winning run scored in the top of the ninth as Bour led off with a double, went to third on a one-out Hill single and scored on a throwing error by the leftfielder. Ryan Brecko pitched the final three innings for Mason, picking up the win to improve to 4-1. He allowed just one hit, a leadoff single in the bottom of the ninth. He lowered his opponents batting average to .206, third-best in the CAA.

Mason and Hofstra will continue its three-game series on Saturday with game time set for 2 p.m.