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April 22, 2003
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The University of Virginia baseball team dropped a 4-3 decision to the visiting George Mason Patriots in a non-conference game at Davenport Field at the UVa Baseball Stadium. George Mason carried a 4-0 lead into the bottom of the eighth inning before Virginia rallied to score three unanswered runs (two in the eighth, one in the ninth). But it wasn’t enough as GMU hung on to pull out a one-run victory. Virginia’s loss was only its fifth of the year at home (19-5) and was its first loss of the season in Charlottesville to a non-ranked opponent.
After playing through three scoreless innings of baseball, George Mason jumped on the scoreboard first and took a 3-0 lead in the top of the fourth inning. The Patriots’ Evan Howard connected on a bases clearing doubled that nearly went for a grand slam after the ball bounced off the outfield wall in left-center field. Howards’ double was the 53rd of his career at GMU, which tied the school record.
The Patriots extended their lead to 4-0 in the fifth inning when Nick Shimer hit a solo home run to right-center field. Shimer’s home run was his fifth of the season and eventually turned out to be the game-deciding play.
Virginia finally got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the eighth inning in a big way after Mark Reynolds blasted a two-run home run deep into center field. Reynolds’ home run, his seventh of the year (team-high), pulled UVa within two runs after his hit made the score 4-2 through eight innings of play.
Virginia stormed back in the bottom of the ninth inning and added a run to cut the lead to 4-3 after Paul Gillispie singled to right field before coming around to score a run two batters later when Andrew Riesenfeld drove him in with a RBI-double off the left field wall. Riesenfeld’s double fell just short of being a home run which would have tied the game at 4-4. Instead, Riesenfeld was left stranded at second base and the Cavaliers fell a run short in the 4-3 loss.
UVa’s starting pitcher Matt Avery (1-4) took the loss after going 5.0 innings on the mound and allowed four runs on eight hits to go along with two strikeouts. The Cavaliers’ Greg Hansard pitched 3.1 scoreless innings in relief action and struck out two batters..
GMU starting pitcher Travis Hardman (4-1) picked up the win after going 8.0 innings and allowed two runs on eight hits to go along with four strikeouts. The Patriots’ Eric Gibbons pitched 1.0 inning and allowed one run on two hits but struck out two batters to earn his second save of the season.
With the loss, Virginia’s record falls to 23-16 overall. The victory improves George Mason’s record to 24-12 on the year.
The Cavaliers will return to action on Wednesday, April 23rd when UVa travels to Salem, Va. to face the Virginia Tech Hokies in a non-conference match on a neutral filed. The game will be played at the Salem Memorial Baseball Stadium. First pitch is scheduled for 7:00 PM.
— UVa —