DAVIDSON, N.C. – Fueled by a lethal ninth-inning performance, fifth-seeded George Mason (23-31, 13-11 A-10) powered past No. 4 overall Rhode Island (20-34, 14-10 A-10) in the opening contest of the Atlantic 10 Baseball Championship, plating five runs in the final frame en route to a 7-3 comeback victory early Tuesday afternoon at Wilson Field.
Victory in hand, the Patriots advance to Wednesday's early-afternoon clash within in the winner's bracket, squaring off against top-seeded Davidson at Wilson Field for rights to a semfinals berth. Meanwhile, Rhode Island falls into the consolation bracket, and will face elimination in either Friday's nightcap or Thursday's mid-afternoon matchup. Both contests will be broadcast live via ESPN+.
After trailing by one run for nearly four entire innings, George Mason revved its offensive engine throughout the ninth inning, initially knotting the score at three apiece behind an RBI single from South Trimble and a gutsy push for the dish from Connor Dykstra, who slid in mere moments before the Rhode Island tag came down.
A Brett Stallings double off the left-field wall lifted the Patriots to their first advantage since the fourth frame before consecutive homers from Jordan Smith and Danny Hosley drove in another three runs as insurance, sealing the eventual 7-3 win.
On the bump, Jared Lyons put in a strong 5.0 innings of work for Mason before Chad Gartland (3-1) took over for the win; the former struck out five while giving up three runs on four hits before the latter set down seven on strikes with just a single hit surrendered.
The Patriots opened the scoring in the second frame behind two-RBI single from Carsen Pracht, but an aggressive Rams attack fought back in the fourth and fifth innings, picking up three on an RBI single, a Mason throwing error and a wild pitch.