Sports

• Mason blanks GW: Dudley jacks first home run of 2010 season

  Sports May 3, 2010 at 1:52 pm Comments are Disabled

  By Brian T. Chan, Sports Editor Sophomore second baseman Tori Dudley did not fear falling behind two strikes early in the count. Instead, she found an opportunity to put some good wood on the ball, hitting her first home run as the George Mason University softball team topped the George Washington Colonials 9-0 to sweep the season series on Wednesday at the George Mason Softball Complex. The Patriots moved to 17-22 on the season while the Colonials dropped to 5-36 overall, losing their 11th straight game. Mason had a sluggish 1-5 start, but after going through ups and downs, the team concluded its non-conference schedule with an even 12-12 record. Mason wrapped up with a 14-16 home record. “We knew going into this [season] that we were a young ball club, and there were going to be some growing pains early,” said Head Coach Joe Verbanic. “What I really love is the way that they have learned and embraced working hard and learning the game; they’re really starting to put it together.” After starting slowly, the Patriots tallied their first hit in the third inning as Dudley sent a 1-2 pitch to straightaway center field and over the 225-feet sign, […]

   

• Battle of the Georges

  Sports April 26, 2010 at 2:50 pm Comments are Disabled

  By Brian T. Chan, Sports Editor Overview: The George Mason University softball team hosts their final home game of the season on Wednesday at 4 p.m. against the George Washington Colonials at the George Mason Softball Complex. Entering the weekend series against the Georgia State Panthers, the Patriots had a 15-20 record. The Colonials, on the other hand, were at 5-31 overall, losing six straight and 20 of their past 21 games. Mason: The Patriots came into the season with a new outlook despite being picked to finish last in the Colonial Athletic Association. Finishing with a dismal 2-19 conference record last season, the team has exceeded that win total with a 4-8 record in the CAA this year, which included wins against the Towson Tigers and defending champions James Madison Dukes. The team has a chance to wrap up their non-conference schedule at .500 on Wednesday against the Colonials. Leading the offense is sophomore shortstop Rachael Davies. Despite the recent drop-off, she remains an essential piece to the lineup. Searching for answers on offense, sophomore second baseman Tori Dudley and sophomore center fielder Alyssa See have come on as of late to raise their batting averages. See, who was […]

   

• Danks a lot: White Sox pitcher on the radar in 2010

  Sports April 26, 2010 at 2:49 pm Comments are Disabled

  By Brian T. Chan, Sports Editor When it comes to discussing about the top pitchers in the American League Central, Zack Greinke and Justin Verlander make headlines for their phenomenal season last year. Mark Buerhle’s perfect game also receives a lot of attention. But, the one guy under the radar in the past two seasons is the 25-year-old arm John Danks of the Chicago White Sox. Danks is off to a great start in the 2010 season, ranking in the top five in the American League in a number of pitching categories. Danks is tied for second with a 1.29 ERA, fourth with a 0.86 WHIP, and has the third lowest opponent’s batting average at .162. Danks has two quality outings, in which he threw deep into the game against the Toronto Blue Jays and Tampa Bay Rays. In each of the two games, he gave up just two hits and one run. Danks lasted eight innings against a solid-hitting Rays’ offense in the 4-1 win. Danks is an early-season candidate for the Cy Young award, but while he has a long way to go to continue the strong start, the 25-year-old has been underappreciated in a pitch-heavy division. Greinke […]

   

• Patriots complete rally

  Sports April 26, 2010 at 2:48 pm Comments are Disabled

  By Brian T. Chan, Sports Editor The George Mason University baseball team was deadlocked at 7-7 with the Delaware Blue Hens with the bases juiced and no one out. Sophomore right fielder Dan Schafferman stroked a single to left-center field to give Mason the 8-7 win on Friday. Mason improved to 24-12 overall and 8-5 in the Colonial Athletic Association to preserve its position in the standings. The Blue Hens fell to 20-16 overall and 3-7 in the conference. In a back-and-forth battle, the Patriots overcame deficits of 3-1 and 6-2 to tie the game at 6-6 in the sixth inning. But, in the seventh inning, the Blue Hens regained the lead up until the bottom of the ninth inning. Senior first baseman Ryan Cuneo came to the plate with one out and launched his ninth homerun of the season to give the Blue Hens a 2-1 lead in the third inning. Delaware later added a run in the inning to take the two-run lead. After Mason cut the lead in half in the fourth inning, the Blue Hens struck again in the fifth inning as junior designated hitter Steve Ulaky sent a two-run homerun to extend the Blue Hens’ […]

   

• Corcoran and Buffington: Overcoming the fear: Freshmen pitchers seek to use confidence to help future development

  Sports April 26, 2010 at 2:47 pm Comments are Disabled

  By Brian T. Chan, Sports Editor Freshmen Nicole Corcoran and Amanda Buffington experienced the early-season jitters, but as the season progressed, both pitchers found a way to settle in and fit in with the other members of the George Mason University softball team. While the ace of the staff is having the best season of her collegiate career, the team also looks to develop through its two freshmen pitchers. Mason is represented by a solid pitching staff. Entering Wednesday’s doubleheader against the Mount St. Mary’s Mountaineers, Mason compiled a 2.84 team overall ERA, fifth in the Colonial Athletic Association. Mason ranks third in the conference with a 1.25 WHIP and has allowed the fewest walks, issuing just 1.61 free passes per seven innings. The team has recently gone through a stretch, winning six of the past nine games and gaining confidence as they approach the latter part of the season. “We’ve worked together very well,” said Buffington. “Everyone talks to each other, and everyone’s constantly picking you up.” Buffington, the Virginia Beach native, provides a unique resume, being a solid pitcher and hitter in her four years at Landstown High School. As the team captain in her senior year, she […]

   

• Three more teams to join the Big Dance: Field grows to 68 teams

  Sports April 26, 2010 at 2:43 pm Comments are Disabled

  By Chris DeMarco, Staff Writer The National Collegiate Athletic Association made a proposal to finally expand the men’s basketball tournament — by only three spots. The total of 68 teams is far lower than the 96 many people had wanted the total number to be expanded to. There are a lot of pros and cons that could be used to expanding the men’s tournament to 96 teams, but the NCAA believes that they reached a “happy-medium” with expanding the field to 68. But does expanding the field by three spots really create more excitement? Adding four more spots, in my opinion, is a little strange. What kind of excitement would allowing four more teams into the tournament create? The only logical way of using the extra three teams is to create some sort of play-in game for a select seed for each region. That seems to be the only possible way to make the expansion work. The extra three spots has to be looked highly upon by smaller, “mid-major” schools like George Mason University and the rest of our Colonial Athletic Association counterparts. The fact still remains that only three extra spots is not enough. Smaller schools, or “mid-majors” as […]

   

• Powell's Playbook: High Hopes

  Sports April 26, 2010 at 2:42 pm Comments are Disabled

  By John Powell, Asst. Sports Editor Recruiting is possibly the most important aspect of college sports. I have seen high schools recruit, but when a significant portion of league funds is divided to member schools based on performance, it becomes more important. During this time of the year, recruiting is of high importance for George Mason University fans. I assume that most people reading this column are fans of the National Football League and would have watched the Washington Redskins draft the most athletic offensive lineman from college football. Well, everyone can take the important qualities from their mock draft into account when they see what the Patriots’ men’s basketball team needs next year. First of all, and most importantly, the team has successfully recruited point guard Bryon Allen. He comes to the Patriots after considering other schools like Siena and George Washington. As much as I love our men’s basketball team, the staff would have had to make quite an offer to pull Allen away from those schools. Allen is ranked as the 43rd-best point guard in this year’s recruiting class with a score of 90. Because of his skill and 215 pounds of court dominance, I believe the […]

   

• Looking to turn the corner: Veteran ice hockey team foresees success

  Sports April 26, 2010 at 2:41 pm Comments are Disabled

  By Josh Apple, C2M Contributor For the first time in school history, the George Mason University club ice hockey team finished .500 in the Blue Ridge Hockey Conference, with a record of 7-7. The team has been skating below the radar at Mason primarily because of the struggles it has faced in the past. Although the team has been in existence for about a decade, victories have been few and far between until the 2009-10 squad took to the ice. “It’s all about commitment and chemistry,” said 23-year-old graduate student Erik Gibbons. “Our previous coach had no ability to keep our lines together for more than a couple games. It really was terrible because we couldn’t develop any chemistry.” Gibbons has been on the team for four years and has witnessed it develop from struggling for survival to having a bright future and a new coaching staff. Gibbons is the only player not returning to the team next year, and the interest continues to grow. Each year, more and more players come to tryouts and want to be a part of the building process. “My favorite memory was this past season because I was actually going into games without expecting […]

   

• Sports in a minute

  Sports April 26, 2010 at 2:39 pm Comments are Disabled

  By Brian T. Chan, Sports Editor Early Wake-Up Call The George Mason University softball team jumped out to an early lead in both games against the Mount St. Mary’s Mountaineers in Wednesday’s doubleheader. While they took the first game 5-1, the Patriots were unable to follow through, losing 11-3 in the nightcap. Mason moved to 15-20 on the season while the Mountaineers stayed at two games above .500 at 22-20. Sophomore center fielder Alyssa See punched in three hits and scored two runs in the first game as the Patriots tallied four runs in the first inning. The Mountaineers scored a run in the bottom of the third inning, but Mason quickly regained the four-run advantage by scoring one in the fourth inning. Sophomore first baseman Katie Rynex, the team’s leading RBI producer, hit a two-out single to score See from second base. Anderson, who gave up one run on six hits while striking out seven batters, retired the side in the last two innings. The Patriots again gained the early advantage, scoring a run in the first inning of the second game. Sophomore second baseman Tori Dudley led off the game with a single and made her way around […]

   

• The final homestand: Panthers continue to dominate Mason with sweep

  Sports April 26, 2010 at 2:38 pm Comments are Disabled

  By Brian T. Chan, Sports Editor Alumni/Senior Weekend did not get off on the right foot for the George Mason University softball team as the Patriots dropped both games on Saturday against the Georgia State Panthers, falling in a tougher position as they fight for a spot in the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament. The Panthers won the first game 3-0 and cruised in the second game, 6-0. Falling to 15-22 overall and 4-8 in conference play, Mason was shut out for the first time since April 3. The Panthers, on the other hand, continued to create separation from the rest of the conference, improving to 31-14 on the year and 10-4 in the conference. Georgia State is second to the Hofstra Pride in the CAA standings. Freshman right fielder Whitney Phillips started the Panthers’ scoring in the first inning with her third homerun of the season. The solo blast came with two outs. The Panthers scored two more runs in the third inning on a two-run triple from freshman center fielder Audrey Mason. Mason scattered four hits in the seven innings while senior starting pitcher Becky Anderson limited the Panthers to five hits and three runs in her complete game. […]