March 6, 2008

The George Mason baseball team will open up Colonial Athletic Association action on Friday afternoon when the Patriots host Virginia Commonwealth University Rams at Spuhler Field. The three-game series has game times at 2:30 p.m. on Friday, 2 p.m. on Saturday and 1 p.m. on Sunday.

Both Mason (2-6) and VCU (2-7) have struggled from the outset. The Patriots dropped a season-opening series at College of Charleston and is 2-3 in their past five games. The Rams opened the year at 16th-ranked Texas but since dropping those three, they are 2-4. The Rams were picked to finish second in the preseason CAA Coaches Poll while the Patriots were picked fifth.

The Patriots have been led thus far by Justin Bour, who is second on the team with a .429 average and three homers and a team-high 12 RBI. He also has a .512 on-base percentage and an .829 slugging percentage. Sophomore transfer Ryan Soares, with eight hits over the past two games is batting .432 on the season and Spencer Wiggins is hitting .316 with six RBI. Mark Hill has four homers and 10 RBI and Scott Krieger has three homers and 10 RBI. On the year, Mason is batting .303 with 11 steals in 13 attempts.

VCU has hit just .253 as a team with R.J. Schenk hitting .333 while Jared Bolden and Joe Van Meter are both hitting .300. But the Rams have had strong pitching. Will Hirsch has a 4.76 ERA in two starts while Ian Thomas has a 2.19 ERA in four appearances and Aaron Morgan has a 2.25 ERA in three appearances.