DAVIDSON, N.C. – Bolstered by a lethal offensive effort from Jacob Friend and Trevor Candelaria, top-seeded Davidson (43-11, 20-4 A-10) powered past No. 5 overall George Mason in the Wildcats' Atlantic 10 Baseball Championship opener, topping the Patriots by a decisive 6-2 margin early Wednesday afternoon at Wilson Field.
Victory in hand, the host 'Cats progress to Friday's early-afternoon semifinal within in the winner's bracket, battling the victor of Wednesday's mid-afternoon clash between second-seeded VCU and No. 6 Saint Joseph's. Meanwhile, George Mason picks up its first loss of the tournament and slips into the consolation bracket, next facing the winner between No. 4 Rhode Island and seventh-seeded Richmond in Thursday's mid-afternoon matchup. Both contests will be broadcast live via ESPN+.
Friend ignited the Davidson offensive engine early on, sending an RBI single through the left side for a quick 1-0 Wildcats advantage. The freshman followed up in the sixth with a well-placed double down the right-field line, this time tacking on two more runs for the 'Cats en route to a more-comfortable lead.
After the Patriots notched their first run of the game on a passed ball in the top of the seventh, A-10 first-team All-Conference selection Trevor Canderlaria responded with gusto behind a two-run shot over the left-field wall, pushing the Davidson edge up to four.
A Connor Dykstra RBI single closed the gap back to three late in the eighth for George Mason, but Friend once again put bat on ball in the bottom half of the frame, launching his second double of the matchup to the right-center gap for a career-best fourth RBI.
On the mound, fellow A-10 All-Conference first-teamer Nolan DeVos (W, 9-2) worked through 6.0 innings of action for the Wildcats, setting down seven batters on strikes while surrendering zero runs with just four hits and two walks. Bennett Flynn (S, 6) took over in the seventh for Davidson, logging his sixth save of the year via a complete 3.0 frames with just one earned run allowed on two hits.