On Wednesday, baseball will revert back to the non-conference play to take on a University of Maryland squad fresh off a sweep over No. 11 NC State.
The Patriots hosted Fordham over the weekend in the first Atlantic 10 series in program history, taking the first two games before tasting defeat in Game Three.
Familiar foes, Mason and Maryland split a home-and-home series in 2013 with each winning a game on enemy turf. The Patriots lead the all-time series 25-23.
Maryland at a glance
The Terrapins swept the Wolfpack over the weekend to advance their season record to 16-6. Despite the fact NC State entered Friday hoping to reverse a three-game losing streak, Maryland dominated.
Outscoring the Wolfpack 22-6 to include a 10-0 shutout victory on Saturday, the Terrapins are now 6-6 on the season against nationally ranked teams.
In the 10-0 victory, Maryland was led on offense by senior Blake Schmit, who knocked in three runs, and a career outing from Jake Stinnett on the mound. The senior from California registered a career-high 14 strikeouts—the most by any Maryland pitcher since 2008. On the season he has 51 punch-outs
Offensively, the Terrapins feature a balance attack led by Anthony Papio’s .318 average, Schmit’s eight doubles and Charlie White’s dual-threat capabilities (15 RBIs and nine stolen bases on nine attempts).
Along with Stinnett at the front of the Maryland pitching rotation is Mike Shawary who boasts a perfect 5-0 record with a 1.26 ERA.
George Mason at a glance
The Patriots opened conference action over the weekend with back-to-back victories before struggling in Sunday’s series conclusion en route to an 8-5 loss. Despite bats getting hot during the latter innings, Mason could not overcome a four-run first inning after shutting out the Rams 24 hours earlier.
The shutout was the Patriots’ fifth this season.
In the series, Blaise Fernandez went 6-11 with three runs, two RBIs and a stolen base.
Center fielder Luke Willis also swiped three bases against Fordham giving him 10 total on the season. He has yet to be thrown out.
Pitching was once again led by Jared Gaynor and Anthony Montefusco as the duo combined for 14 strikeouts and only one earned run in 16 innings of action vs. Fordham.
