May 24, 2008

Bour powers Mason past UNC Wilmington

By Stuart Smith

CollegeBaseballInsider.com

WILMINGTON, N.C. – Third-seeded George Mason (30-24) rode a pair of Justin Bour home runs to a 14-9 victory over top-seeded UNC Wilmington (42-15) in Game 7 of the 2008 Colonial Athletic Association Championship.

The Seahawks were eliminated and will have to wait until Monday to see if they made the NCAA Tournament.

Mason was led by Scott Krieger who went 2 for 4 with five RBI. The left fielder scored four runs and hit his 18^th home run of the season. Bour also finished with 5 RBI on 2-for-4 hitting.

UNCW was paced by Alex Hill who went 3 for 5 with three RBI and scored three.

George Mason jumped on top starting pitcher Larry Salefsky the second time through the order, scoring five runs in the bottom of the third inning. After Spencer Wiggins drew a leadoff walk, Ryan Soares had an infield single, sending Wiggins to second. Catcher Chris Henderson had a bunt single, advancing the runners. Krieger stepped to the plate and doubled to left center, scoring Wiggins and Soares. Bour was the next batter and sent the first pitch over the left field wall for a three-run homer, giving Mason a 5-0 lead.

UNCW’s Alex Hill scored on a Jason Appel double in the fifth. Mason responded in the bottom half of the inning. Henderson reached on a throwing error by the shortstop to lead off. Scott Krieger reached on a fielder’s choice, bringing Bour to the plate with a runner on first. This time, Bour belted a homer to right field, scoring two runs.

With the UNCW trailing 7-1, the Seahawks needed a big inning and got it, posting four runs in the sixth. Nate Hall singled to begin the ending, but Cody Stanley grounded into a double play. Jes Snyder and Rhett Miller drew back-to-back two-out walks. A Mike Rooney singled scored Snyder. Designated hitter Alex Hill hit a three-run homer to right field to bring the Seahawks within two runs.

George Mason responded, going through three Seahawk pitchers in the five-run sixth inning. Allen Flood replaced Salefsky to start the inning, getting a strikeout to start the inning but walked the next batter on four pitches. Wiggins stepped to the plate and ripped a RBI double to right center field. Bryan Booth came on to pitch for UNCW and gave up a first-pitch single to Soares. It would be his only pitch as the Seahawks made the call to the bullpen for Cameron Roth. Roth gave up a RBI single to Henderson and then a three-run home run to Krieger, putting the Patriots ahead 12-5.

UNCW mounted a comeback in the eighth, getting a one-out single from Rooney. An Alex Hill walk and a Daniel Hargrave single scored Rooney. Appel followed with another RBI single. The Patriots called on Ryan Brecko, who walked Mark Carver to load the bases. Nate Hall singled up the middle, scoring two runs. Brecko got Stanley to line into an unassisted double play to end the threat.

Mason padded their 12-9 lead in the bottom half of the eighth inning. A two-out walk to Krieger and an intentional pass to Bour brought Josh Steinberg to the plate. The designated hitter doubled, clearing the bases and giving the Patriots a 14-9 lead.

George Mason went 7 for 9 with runners in scoring position, leaving only four runners stranded.

UNC Wilmington tied a CAA Tournament record, sending six pitchers to the hill in the game. Stephen Harrold was the only Seahawk hurler to not have any runs scored against him.