March 17, 2009

Box Score

FAIRFAX, Va. - The Marist baseball team suffered its fifth straight loss on Tuesday, as the Red Foxes suffered a 6-5 defeat at George Mason. Junior third baseman Ricky Pacione (Newburgh, N.Y.) belted his fifth home run of the season for the Red Foxes, and junior first baseman Ryan Gauck (Clifton Park, N.Y.) had three hits.

An RBI single by red-shirt sophomore catcher Bryce Nugent (Binghamton, N.Y.) gave the Red Foxes a 1-0 lead in the top of the first. After George Mason tied the score in the bottom half of the inning. Marist took a 3-1 lead in the second thanks to a run scoring on an error and a sacrifice fly by Nugent.

George Mason cut Marist's lead to 3-2 in the sixth, but the Red Foxes expanded the lead to 5-2 on a two-run homer by Pacione in the top of the seventh. However, George Mason took its first lead of the day by scoring four times in the bottom of the seventh on a hit, two walks, a wild pitch and an error.

In the top of the ninth, Gauck led the inning off with a double. He reached third with two outs, but was stranded there to end the game.

Junior right-hander Richard Cary (Binghamton, N.Y.) started and pitched 5.1 innings, allowing five hits, one walk and two runs. He struck out two. Senior left-hander Josh Rickards (Glenolden, Pa.) took the loss (2-1), allowing four runs in 1.1 innings. Freshman right-hander Jake Rifkin (West Deptford, N.J.) relieved Rickards and retired all four batters he faced.

For George Mason, first baseman Scott Krieger went 3-for-3 with three RBIs and two runs scored. Ben Reade struck out two batters in the seventh to earn the win and improve to 2-0. Shawn Griffith pitched a scoreless eighth and ninth for his first save of the season.

The Red Foxes outhit the Patriots by a count of 12-6. Marist fell to 6-7, while George Mason now stands at 13-3.

The teams will conclude their two-game series on Wednesday. First pitch is set for 3 p.m.