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Virginia Commonwealth University

#LetsGoVCU
BSBPetersAction_SJU23
0
George Mason MASON 16-18, 3-4 A-10
5
Winner VCU VCU 18-16, 4-3 A-10
George Mason MASON
16-18, 3-4 A-10
0
Final
5
VCU VCU
18-16, 4-3 A-10
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
George Mason MASON 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 4
VCU VCU 3 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 X 5 7 0

W: Peters, Zach (2-3) L: Ben Shields (5-2) S: Erka, Brendan (2)

Game Recap: Baseball |

RAMS TOSS COMBINED SHUTOUT TO KNOCK OFF GEORGE MASON

Final Score: VCU 5, George Mason 0
Winning Pitcher: Zachary Peters (2-3)
Losing Pitcher:  Ben Shields (5-2)
Save: Brendan Erka (2)
Location: Richmond, Va. (The Diamond)
Records: VCU 18-16 (4-3), George Mason 16-18 (3-4)
 
The Short Story:  Behind power shutout pitching from Zachary Peters and Brendan Erka, VCU Baseball opened its Atlantic 10 weekend series with George Mason by tossing the first combined shutout of the season for a Friday night win at the Diamond, moving above .500 in A-10 play for the season.
 
LEADING OFF:
 
  • VCU scored four in the opening two frames to build an early lead, which was more than enough for both Peters and Erka.
  • Peters pitched six innings, giving up only three hits and striking out a career-high eight Patriot batters.
  • Erka pitched three shutout innings after coming in at the start of the seventh inning, allowing only three George Mason baserunners.
  • A.J.  Mathis spearheaded the Rams' offensive effort by going 2-of-4, scoring runs and batting in another. It was Mathis' 13th multi-hit game of the season as well as 15th consecutive game reaching base.
  • This was VCU's first complete game shutout since April 29, 2022 when the trio of Tyler Davis, Chase Hungate, and Nolan Wilson held the Dayton Flyers scoreless in a 7-0 win for the Black and Gold. 
HOW IT HAPPENED: 
  • George Mason threatened to score in the top of the first, getting two runners in scoring position. However, Peters forced Mark Trotta to groundout to shortstop William Bean to get out of the early jam.
  • VCU's bats came alive in the bottom half of the first.  Mathis got things started with a single to the left side and followed that up by stealing second.
  • After a Will Carlone walk, Eike singled and advanced to third on a throwing error, bringing Mathis and Carlone home.
  • Eike reached home himself thanks to a base hit by Jake Thilges to round out the Rams' scoring in the opening frame and give VCU a 3-0 lead.
  • On the play, George Mason's first basemen (Trotta) got caught in-between and the hesitation on where to throw the ball allowed Eike to reach home and Thilges to get to first.
  • In the bottom of the second, a George Mason wild pitch gave Mathis the opportunity to reach home and make it a 4-0 lead for the Black and Gold.
  • VCU scored the last run of the night in the fourth inning when Mathis doubled out to left field, bringing home Nic Ericsson and making it a 5-0 ballgame.
  • The game settled into a pitchers' duel the rest of the way, with no runs scored from the fifth inning to the ninth inning. George Mason got close to scoring in the eighth when they put two runners on, but Erka got Connor Dykst to fly out to Mathis in center field to end the threat.
UP NEXT: VCU and George Mason resume their A-10 three-game set at the Diamond on Saturday, April 15, with first pitch scheduled for 2 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+.
 
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