George Mason Walks Off Bison Baseball, 13-12

FAIRFAX, Va. – South Trimble's two-run single capped a three-run rally in the bottom of the ninth, lifting George Mason to a 13-12 win over Bucknell in a wild one on Tuesday afternoon at Spuhler Field. The loss spoiled big offensive performances from Tyler Dunn, who recorded his first career four-hit game, and freshman shortstop Andrew Swenson, who reached base all five times and hit a dramatic go-ahead grand slam in the seventh inning.

Bucknell fell to 6-9 on the season heading into this weekend's four-game Patriot League series against Navy. George Mason, the defending Atlantic 10 champion who won two games in the Winston-Salem Regional last season, improved to 8-7. The Patriots had two walk-off victories against Monmouth over the weekend, and they did it again on Tuesday in a back-and-forth affair.

The Bison trailed 9-5 after six innings before surging back in front in the seventh. They loaded the bases with one out after singles from Dunn, Nic Adamo, and Michael Trommer. The Patriots thought they were out of the inning when a pitch rode in on Billy Fluharty and the ball rolled into fair territory. George Mason turned it into an apparent 1-2-3 double play, but after a lengthy conversation, the pitch was ruled to have hit Fluharty. That forced in a run to make it 9-6, and three pitches later Swenson crushed an offering from Kyle Menaker over the left field wall for a grand slam.

George Mason tied the game with an unearned run in the bottom of the seventh. Jake Butler singled with one out, went all the way around to third on an errant pickoff throw, and scored on a Reece Woody sacrifice fly.

Bucknell loaded the bases with no outs in the top of the eighth after Grant Voytovich walked, Dunn doubled down the right-field line for his fourth hit, and Billy Kender drew another walk. Owen Stewart got the first out with a strikeout, but he walked Michael Trommer to force in a run, and Fluharty made it 12-10 with a sac fly.

Nick Mulvey (1-1) got two big strikeouts to escape a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the eighth, but two walks and a hit batsman proved fatal in the ninth. Derek Wood plated one run with a fielder's choice and then stole second, and Trimble ended it with a sharp ground ball inside the bag at third.

Dunn finished 4-for-5 and scored three runs. Swenson was 3-for-3 with a single, triple, homer, and two walks. He is now 12-for-23 (.522) on the season, with eight of his 12 hits going for extra bases. The grand slam was his third home run of the season, and he now has a 1.174 slugging percentage and a 1.767 OPS.

Jacob Corson led off the game with his third home run of the season and Kender followed with a two-run single later in the inning as part of a three-RBI day. George Mason answered with two runs in the bottom of the first and three in the second to take the lead.

Butler finished 3-for-4, Trimble was 2-for-2 with four walks, and Woody and Jordan Smith both homered for the Patriots. Bucknell outhit George Mason 14-13.

Patriot League play starts this weekend with Bucknell hosting Navy for a four-game series. The Bison and Midshipmen will play single games on Friday and Sunday with a Saturday doubleheader in between. It will be the first meeting between the two teams since Bucknell's sweep in the 2023 Patriot League Tournament semifinal series.

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Team Stats

Tyler Dunn

Andrew Swenson

Jacob Corson

Nic Adamo

Players Mentioned

Nic Adamo

Jacob Corson

Tyler Dunn

Billy Fluharty

Billy Kender

Nick Mulvey

Andrew Swenson

Michael Trommer

Grant Voytovich