TOWSON, Md. - Senior rightfielder Kevin Collins, who had only homered once in the previous 16 games, blasted two home runs and drove in four runs to lead the Tigers (18-35, 10-12) to a 9-4 Colonial Athletic Association victory over slumping George Mason University (27-21, 10-12) in the opening game of their three-game weekend series at John B. Schuerholz Park on Friday afternoon.
With the loss, the Patriots were eliminated from CAA Tournament contention. George Mason came into the weekend series needing to sweep Towson to earn a berth in next weekend's CAA Tournament at UNC Wilmington. The loss was the Patriots' ninth consecutive loss and it marked their seventh straight CAA defeat.
The nine-game losing streak is the longest single season losing streak in school history.
Collins led the Tigers' 14-hit attack by going four-for-five. He hit two singles, two home runs, scored three runs and had four RBI's. It was his third four-hit game of the season.
In a "must win" situation, the Patriots took advantage of a Tiger error in the top of the first inning to score an unearned run and take a 1-0 lead.
Sophomore second baseman Brig Tison opened the game by hitting a soft ground ball back to the mound. Senior righthander Austin Hurd got to the ball and made a wild throw into right field as Tison reached second base on the two-base error. Tison moved to third base when senior shortstop Ryan Soares grounded out to second base. Moments later, he scored the first run of the game when senior third baseman Mark Hill lined out to right field for a sacrifice fly. Hurd walked junior designated hitter Shane Davis on four pitches before sophomore rightfielder Dan Schaefferman lined out to right field, ending the inning.
In their half of the first inning, the Tigers erupted for four runs on five hits as they took a 4-1 lead against senior righthander Kevin Crum. With one out, junior shortstop Nick Natoli started the rally with a single to centerfield. Collins followed Natoli's hit with a single to left centerfield. When junior second baseman Chris Wychock lined a hard single to centerfield, the Tigers had the bases loaded with one out.
Crum walked in the Tigers' first run of the game as junior designated hitter Steve Rice drew a free pass with the bases loaded. Freshman leftfielder Kurt Wertz lined a hard single to leftfield, driving in Collins to give Towson a 2-1 lead. A sacrifice fly to right by junior third baseman Austin Harclerode enabled Wychock to score, giving Towson a 3-1 advantage. Wychock made a great slide to avoid the tag at the plate.
Freshman catcher Andrew Parker kept the rally going when he lined an RBI single to left, scoring Rice to make it a 4-1 lead. Crum finally escaped the inning when he retired junior first baseman Eric Weller on a fly ball to right field.
Leading by 4-1, Hurd pitched himself into immediate trouble in the second inning. After walking junior first baseman Dan Palumbo on four pitches, he also walked sophomore centerfielder Jeremy Haas on four pitches. While pitching to junior catcher Danny Lyons, he threw a wild pitch that enabled both runners to move into scoring position. When Lyons grounded out to shortstop, Palumbo scored to cut the Patriots' deficit to 4-2. However, Hurd worked out of the jam by retiring the next two hitters on ground balls to third base.
In the bottom of the second inning, the Tigers increased their lead to 6-2. Sophomore centerfielder Ben Winter led off the inning with a line drive double down the right field line. After Natoli bunted Winter over to second base, Collins launched a mammoth home run over the scoreboard in right field, his sixth homer of the season. Collins' two-run homer gave the Tigers a 6-2 lead.
Junior righthander Charlie Cononie relieved Hurd to start the third inning and he ran into trouble right away. With one out, Hill drew a walk. Davis delivered the Patriots' first hit of the game, a long triple to right centerfield that enabled Hill to score and cut the Tigers' lead to 6-3. With Schafferman at the plate, the Tigers pulled their infield in to try and keep Davis from scoring. The strategy worked perfectly when Schafferman hit a ground ball right to Natoli at shortstop. Natoli threw to Parker at home plate and Davis was out. Cononie ended the threat by striking out Palumbo.
Trailing by 6-3 in the third inning, the Patriots also went to their bullpen. George Mason brought in freshman lefthander Chris O'Grady to relieve Crum, who allowed six runs on seven hits in two innings of work.
After O'Grady shut out the Tigers in the bottom of the third inning, the Patriots chipped away at their deficit in the top of the fourth inning.
Haas opened the inning by drawing a walk on a 3-2 pitch. With one out, freshman leftfielder Nick Allen singled to left as Haas advanced to third base. When Tison grounded into a force play, Haas scored to reduce the Tigers' lead to 6-4. When Soares and Hill drew back-to-back walks, the Patriots had the bases loaded with two outs. However, Cononie got his biggest out of the game when he struck out Davis to escape the jam.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, the Tigers reached O'Grady for three straight singles to score another run. Natoli led off the inning with a single to centerfield before Collins lined a single up the middle for his third hit of the game. When Wychock blooped a single to left, Natoli scored to increase the lead to 7-4.
However, O'Grady regrouped and pitched out of the jam with no further damage. After Collins stole third base, Rice struck out for the first out of the inning. When Wertz grounded into an inning-ending double play, O'Grady was out of the inning.
After allowing two runs in his first two innings of relief, Cononie settled down. He shut out the Patriots in the fifth inning and used his glove to escape a jam in the sixth inning. With one out and Tison on first base, Soares smashed a line drive back to the mound. Cononie caught the hard line drive and threw to first base for an inning-ending double play.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, the Tigers added to their lead. Winter led off with a single to centerfield, his second hit of the game. After Natoli was retired on a fly ball to left, Collins smashed a long home run over the right centerfield fence, giving the Tigers a 9-4 advantage. It was Collins' seventh homer of the season and the 26th of his college career.
Cononie retired the Patriots in order in the seventh inning and took a 9-4 lead into the eighth. With one out in the eighth, Haas reached base on an infield single. After Lyons was retired on a foul popup, Allen drew a walk. However, Cononie retired Tison on a ground ball to shortstop, ending the inning.
In his longest outing of the season, Cononie pitched six innings and allowed two runs on five hits. While earning his second win of the season, he walked five and struck out four.
Junior righthander Drew Permison nailed down the win by pitching a scoreless ninth inning. After Soares led off with a single, Hill grounded into a double play. Davis kept the Patriots' hopes alive by drawing a walk. However, Schafferman was retired on a fly ball to right field, ending the game and George Mason's CAA Tournament hopes.
The Tigers, who outhit the Patriots by a 14-6 margin, were led by Collins, who had four hits and four RBI's. Winter also had two hits and scored two runs. Natoli was two-for-four and scored two runs. He also had eight assists from his shortstop position, including a throw to the plate to retire Davis. He also started the ninth inning double play that cut short a Patriot rally.
Wychock also contributed a pair of hits and scored a run.
Although the Patriots drew nine walks, they managed only six hits and left ten runners on base. No Patriot had more than one hit. Haas and Davis each reached base three times.
O'Grady pitched well in relief of Crum. In six innings of work, he allowed three runs on seven hits. He had three strikeouts and did not walk anyone.
With the victory, the Tigers moved into a four-way tie for fifth place in the CAA, along with Hofstra, George Mason and William & Mary.
The Tigers and the Patriots will play the second game of their three-game CAA series on Saturday afternoon at 1:00 p.m. at Schuerholz Park.
