TYSONS, Va. – George Mason jumped out to an early lead and held off a late comeback to defeat Saint Joseph’s 11–7 on Thursday at Capital One Park in the Atlantic 10 Baseball Championship.

The Patriots (22-11) advance in the consolation bracket to face the winner of the Thursday nightcap between No. 4 Davidson and No. 7 Dayton Friday at 11:00 am. The Hawks were eliminated with the loss.

George Mason scored eight runs in the first two innings. James Quinn-Irons opened the scoring with an RBI single in the first inning. Jake Butler added a run on a fielder’s choice.

In the second inning, George Mason capitalized on a wild pitch, an error, and a two-run single by Quinn-Irons to add four more runs. Butler followed with a two-run home run to extend the lead to 8–0.

George Mason added three more runs in the fourth, including an RBI single by Butler, a steal of home by Quinn-Irons, and a balk that allowed Lucas Alberti to score, making it 11–0.

Saint Joseph’s (24-28) began to chip away in the bottom of the fourth. Carson Applegate singled home a run, and in the fifth, Alex Kelsey hit a solo home run. Later in the inning, a wild pitch scored another run, and Aidan Duda hit a grand slam to cut the deficit to 11–7.

Neither team scored in the final four innings.

Logan Rumberg earned the win for George Mason with four scoreless innings in relief, striking out six. Nathan Stein took the loss for Saint Joseph’s, allowing eight runs in 1.2 innings.

Quinn-Irons went 4-for-5 with three RBI and two stolen bases. Butler had three RBI and a home run. Duda led the Hawks with four RBI on his grand slam.