By Jared Shafran
After winning the first game of the series, the baseball team dropped the final two games to the George Mason Patriots this weekend at Spuhler Field in Fairfax, Va.
In the first game, the Husky offense combined for 14 hits to beat the Patriots. Led once again by senior offensive standout Mike Lyon, the Huskies won the game 10-6. Lyon belted two-run homers in both the third and fifth innings and finished with four RBI on the day.
Kris Dabrowiecki started the game for the Huskies and picked up the win. For the second straight start Dabrowiecki had trouble in the first inning, giving up three runs. But he settled in and finished the day throwing 5 and 1/3 innings with just another run tacked on.
“He gave up runs but he settled in after that,” said head coach Neil McPhee. “It’s always good to get his first win under his belt.”
Dan Zehr retired the final batters of the game to pick up a four-out save, his second of the season.
On Saturday in the second game of the series, everything was going well for the Huskies as they took a 4-2 lead into the seventh inning. But the team could not hold onto the lead as George Mason was able to score one run in the seventh inning and two more in the eighth to take the lead.
The final score was 5-4 in favor of the Patriots, evening the series.
“Saturday’s game was the pivotal game,” McPhee said. “They got timely hits and their pitchers threw strikes early in the count.”
Junior Jeff Thomson started the game for the Huskies and earned a no-decision after pitching 7 and 2/3 innings. Thomson, who was perfect through four innings, allowed four runs on four hits and struck out five batters.
“Thomson’s pitching was outstanding,” McPhee said. “He had control of the game for seven innings.”
Patriots’ first baseman Justin Bour hit 3-4 in the game, with a two-run homer in the fifth inning.
The Huskies were held quiet in the final three innings of play by Patriots sophomore pitcher Darren McLean, who picked up his first collegiate win.
For the Huskies offense, sophomore right fielder Tony DiCesare hit his first home run of the season to give the Huskies the 4-2 lead. But the Huskies did not get offensive production once they fell behind, having no runners reach scoring position in the final two innings of play.
In the rubber game of the series, the Patriots scored 10 runs in the fifth inning and eight more in the sixth to beat the Huskies, 26-9.
The George Mason offense set team highs for the season in hits and runs with 19 and 26 respectively. The team was led again by Bour who finished 4-5 with two homers and seven RBI.
“These kinds of losses happen to everybody now and again,” McPhee said. “We are obviously off to a slow start but all the parts are there.”
Captain Mike Lyon continued his offensive tear, going 3-4 with a homer, two RBI and three runs scored. Junior Frank Pesanello and sophomore Dave Fisher also belted home runs for the Huskies in the loss.
“You never expect a game to go like that,” Lyon said. “You just have to move on to the positives that you have and just forget about it.”
The starting pitcher for the Huskies, Ryan Quigley, did not take much of the damage, leaving the game after four innings of work with the score tied 3-3. Quigley surrendered six hits and walked four while striking out six.
“Quigley had great stuff but he had thrown 88 pitches through four innings,” McPhee said. “We couldn’t leave him in there after that.”
At the conclusion of the series, the Huskies dropped to 8-8 overall and 2-4 in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA). While George Mason improved to 9-11 on the season and 6-2 in the CAA.
“It was a case of a couple things not going well together,” Lyon said. “Our hitting was off [Saturday] and then the pitching was off [Sunday].”
The Huskies are scheduled to host the Rhode Island Rams in their home opener Tuesday at 3 p.m. at Friedman Diamond.
