DAVIDSON, N.C. – Boosted early on by a pair of first-inning runs, seventh-seeded Richmond (28-25, 11-13 A-10) took advantage of the team's initial offensive thrust to solidify momentum throughout the entirety of the their second-straight elimination offering at the Atlantic 10 Baseball Championship, eventually downing No. 5 overall George Mason (23-33, 13-11 A-10) behind a final 7-3 result late Thursday afternoon at Wilson Field.
Victory in hand, the Spiders maintain their Cinderella run through the consolation bracket, next clashing with third-seeded Saint Louis in Friday's early-afternoon elimination matchup, first pitch slated for noon. The contest will be broadcast live via ESPN+.
Five consecutive hits to open the contest sparked the Richmond aggression early on, as Johnny Hipsman and Jason Neff cashed in midway through the first on back-to-back RBI doubles to elevate the Spiders to a quick advantage.
The score would hold until the sixth when, following a Patriots pitching change, Richmond set out to eliminate any chance of a George Mason rally. A leadoff single from Hipsman led into a two-run bomb for Neff, easily clearing the left-field fence on the fourth pitch of his at-bat. A D.J. Pacheco RBI single later in the frame added on one more run before Alden Mathes cleared the bases behind a two-RBI triple, securing UR a commanding 7-0 edge.
Mason attempted to compile a late comeback, as a pair of homers in the seventh from Jordan Smith and Kamron Smith plated three total runs for the Patriots. The Spiders, however, leaned on reliever Josh Willits down the stretch, as the sophomore closer wrapped up the eventual victory.
On the mound, Brenden Argomaniz (W, 6-0) tossed a solid 4.1 innings for the Spiders en route to his sixth win of the year, striking out a pair while surrendering zero runs on just five hits and two walks. Willitts (S, 2), who took over midway through the fifth, handled the final 4.2 frames of work for Richmond, setting down five batters on strikes while giving up three runs on four hits.