Box Score
ROCK HILL, SC – The Winthrop baseball team defeated the George Mason Patriots 11-4 on day two of The Bojangles Baseball Classic, Saturday afternoon at The Winthrop Ballpark.
The Eagles improve to 2-0 on the season, while the Patriots fall to 2-1 overall.
Robert Lake (1-0) earned the victory pitching 7.0 innings of scoreless baseball allowing only three hits, two walks and struck out a career-high nine batters. Nick Kendrick (0-1) took the loss surrendering five runs (four earned) on seven hits, one walk and two strikeouts.
"It was tremendous game by Robert," said head coach Joe Hudak. "It reminded me of how he threw last season in the Big South Tournament against Liberty. He was on and ahead in the count. He threw a great ballgame."
The game was scoreless throughout the first three innings before Winthrop broke open for five runs in the bottom of the fourth. Chas Crane led off the inning with a double down the left field line before advancing to third after a single down the right field line by Patrick Gamblin. Adam Gliebe followed with a walk to load the bases before Tyler McBride drove in Crane and Gamblin with his single to right field. Gliebe moved over to third base on the hit and McBride advanced to second. Tyler Donovan delivered his first collegiate hit with an RBI single to right field scoring Gliebe. McBride went to third base and Donovan moved to second after a throwing error by right fielder Dan Shafferman. Tyler Cook and Sean Sullivan followed with back-to-back RBI groundouts scoring McBride and Donovan.
The Eagles added another run in the fifth inning to make it a 6-0 game after Gamblin reached base on an error by Shafferman that scored Thielepape from third base. Thielepape started the inning with a double down the left field line and advanced to third after Crane grounded out.
Winthrop extended its lead to 9-0 in the seventh inning after driving in three runs off George Mason reliever Chris O'Grady. Sullivan and Eddie Rohan started off the inning with back-to-back doubles before Thielepape drove in Sullivan with his RBI single to left field. Rohan then scored on Matt Pierpont's pinch-hit RBI single past the shortstop. Thielepape came home on Taylor Lang's RBI single in his first collegiate at-bat.
The Patriots scored their first run of the game in the top of the eighth on an RBI sacrifice fly to right field by Ryan Soares that scored Jeremy Haas. Haas doubled to left field in his at-bat and moved to third base after Shafferman reached on an infield single.
The Eagles answered back with two runs of their own that included a Max Vogel solo home run to right field in his first career bat as an Eagle. It is the second straight game that a Winthrop player has homered in his first collegiate at-bat as Gamblin accomplished that feat against Northwestern on Friday night. Pierpont added an RBI sacrifice fly to left field scoring Rohan after he was hit by a pitch and moved to third after Crane's double.
George Mason could only cut the deficit to 11-4 in the ninth inning after scoring three runs off Vogel. The Patriots loaded the bases with three-straight singles by Anthony Montefusco, Brett Hendricks and Dan Palumbo, and Nick Allen drove in Montefusco and Hendricks on his RBI double to left center field. Palumbo then scored on an RBI groundout by Haas.
Rohan, Thielepape, Crane and Gamblin all had two hits apiece for Winthrop, while Pierpont and McBride drove in two runs each. Hendricks was the leading hitter for the Patriots with three hits and Schafferman added two hits.
"I am really pleased with how we have swung the bat both of these games (against Northwestern and George Mason)," said Hudak.
The Eagles will be back in action on Sunday, Feb. 21 as they host the Marist Red Foxes at 2:30 p.m.
