TYSONS, Va. -- George Mason used a balanced offensive attack and a pivotal five-run fourth inning to defeat Richmond, 11-6, Friday morning at Capital One Park in the Atlantic 10 Baseball Championship.
George Mason advanced to face top-seeded Saint Joseph's in an elimination game. Richmond (33-24) was eliminated
The Patriots (30-25) scored in each of the first five innings and collected 13 hits, building a lead large enough to withstand a late Richmond rally. George Mason got multi-hit performances from Jake Butler, Owen Clyne and Julius Bagnerise while starter Diego Cardenas delivered 6 1/3 innings to earn the win.
George Mason grabbed the lead in the first inning when Clyne doubled down the right-field line and later came home to make it 1-0. The Patriots added two more runs in the second, highlighted by Logan Vaughan’s sacrifice fly, before Bagnerise ripped a two-run double in the third to extend the advantage to 5-0.
Richmond (33-24, 33-24 A-10) answered in the fourth inning behind RJ Johnson Jr., who crushed a two-run homer to deep center field after Dylan Winebrenner reached with a single. The blast, Johnson’s eighth of the season, cut the deficit to 5-2 and briefly shifted momentum toward the Spiders.
But George Mason responded immediately with its biggest inning of the day. Clyne delivered a two-run double in the bottom of the fourth, Butler followed with an RBI single, and the Patriots pushed across five runs total in the frame to stretch the lead to 10-2.
The Patriots added another run in the fifth when Butler lined an RBI single up the middle to score Clyne and make it 11-2.
Richmond mounted a comeback push in the seventh. Michael Elko and Winebrenner opened the inning with singles before Johnson worked a walk to load the bases. Chris Schaller was hit by a pitch to force in a run, Ryan Recio followed with an RBI walk, and Reid Downs added a sacrifice fly. Aidan O’Keefe capped the four-run inning with an RBI single to trim the deficit to 11-6.
George Mason’s bullpen took over from there. Brandon Hsu escaped further trouble in the seventh, and Owen Stewart tossed two scoreless innings to close out the victory.
Cardenas (5-5) earned the win after allowing two runs on six hits over 6 1/3 innings while striking out three. Richmond starter Jackson Hinchliffe (4-6) took the loss after allowing five runs in three innings.
Johnson Jr. led Richmond offensively, finishing 2-for-3 with a home run, two RBI and two runs scored. Winebrenner added two hits and scored twice, while O’Keefe drove in a run and reached base twice.
For George Mason, Butler finished 3-for-4 with two RBI and two runs scored. Clyne went 2-for-5 with two doubles, two RBI and two runs scored, while Bagnerise also doubled twice and drove in a pair. Morse reached base three times and scored twice at the top of the lineup.
Richmond finished with 10 hits, while George Mason went 6-for-15 with runners in scoring position and consistently delivered timely offense throughout the morning.