On Friday, Mason baseball will play host the first Atlantic 10 game in school history when they host Fordham for a three-game series.
The Patriots, who enter the conference slate at 11-7, lost to No. 16 ranked North Carolina last week by a final of 13-3, but have since rebounded and are on a two-game winning streak after defeating Brown in the last two games of a weekend series on March 15th and 16th.
Against the Tar Heels at Boshamer Stadium, the Patriots kept pace with a squad that won a country-high 59 games last season through seven innings. North Carolina, however, used a six-run eighth inning to secure a double-digit victory.
Mason has won their last two conference openers.
Fordham at a glance
The Rams come to Fairfax this weekend with a 7-9 record. While they have bounced back from early season mishaps that had their record at 2-5 through seven games, they are 0-5 away from the Bronx.
They are coming off an 11-4 loss suffered against New York counterpart Hofstra.
Offensively, Fordham is led across the board by senior Tim Swatek (.389 average, 21 hits, 13 RBIs). During his four-year career, Swatek has started over 150 games and has accumulated over 50 RBIs.
Where the Rams can pester opponents most, though, is on the bases. For the season they have swiped 35 bases on 47 attempts, 20th most in the country.
On the mound, Fordham is led by reliever Luke Stampfl (2-0 in five appearances) as starters are a combined 4-7.
Mason at a glance
At the plate, setting the table is Josh Leemhuis (.373 average). Against North Carolina, Leemhuis went 4-for-5 with an RBI.
Three Patriots have at least 10 RBIs (Tucker Tobin, Luke Willis, Blaise Fernandez) with Willis also being a threat on the bases.
In 18 games this season, the junior has seven stolen bases on seven attempts.
Tobin went 4-for-11 in the Brown series with three RBIs.
On the hill, Mason is led by starters Jared Gaynor (0.84 ERA, 3-2 record, 29 K’s) and Anthony Montefusco (0.87 ERA, 3-1 record, 29 K’s).
Both rank in the top-40 in individual ERA.
