Broadside Sports

Tim Blank, Broadside Correspondent

Former George Mason University pitcher Mike Modica had a rough outing this past Monday.

Pitching for the Class-A Tri-City Valley Cats, Modica, an 11-game winner for Mason last year, pitched two innings and recorded two strikeouts, but gave up two hits and an error in the 4-2 loss to the Aberdeen Ironbirds.

Pitcher Shawn Griffith is putting up some good outings for the Class-A Auburn Doubledays after being called up last week. In his 23 appearances, Griffith, an electric relief pitcher, is 2-2, with a 0.60 ERA. In his recent outing against the Jamestown Jammers on Monday, Griffith pitched two innings and recorded a strikeout while giving up a hit and a walk.

Jordan Flasher of the Class-A Lowell Spinners could not ask for a better start to his minor league career. He is 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA and has 13 strikeouts to go with eight walks.

First baseman Justin Bour is currently batting .267 with four home runs and 23 RBIs for the Class-A Boise Hawks.

Finally, Mason’s single-season and all-time home run leader Scott Krieger continues his stellar performance for the Helena Brewers in rookie league. Krieger has a .251 batting average with 12 home runs and 48 RBIs.

Mason’s women’s volleyball team extended their winning streak to five games after defeating the Rutgers Scarlet Knights this morning in four sets. Mason dropped the first set 25-23, but rebounded with a 27-25 second-set victory. Mason manhandled the Scarlet Knights in third set, 25-12. Senior outside hitter Rebecca Walter led all players with 17 kills and committed just one error to post an outstanding .457 attack percentage. Mason is scheduled to play against the Xavier Musketeers at 5 p.m.

Sophomore middle blocker Kelsey Bohman was named CAA Defensive Player of the Week after registering 22 blocks in four matches last week. Bohman recorded three solo blocks against the Kent State Golden Flashes and added 11 blocks, most from an individual Mason player this season, in the win against the Cornell Big Red. She leads the CAA with 1.41 blocks per set. Bohman has also been a key offensive contributor, currently ranked third on the team with 50 kills. Last season, Mason was 2-5 through seven matches. Bohman, the defensive specialist, and Mason look to prolong their surprising 5-2 start as they take on the UMBC Retrievers tomorrow.

The men’s soccer team finished in second place in the D.C. College Cup. Mason opened the season with a thrilling 2-1 win over the Howard Bison. Junior forward Parker Walton broke the 1-1 tie with an 86th minute goal. In the final, Mason fell 2-1 to the American Eagles. Sophomore forward Draymond Washington tallied Mason’s lone goal.

The women’s soccer team dropped their first game in their 2009 campaign, losing 3-1 to the Pennsylvania Quakers. Mason opened the season 3-0 for the first time since the 1993 season. Senior forward Theresa DeLucca cut Penn’s lead in half in the 54th minute, but Marin McDermott scored Penn’s insurance goal five minutes later.

The women’s volleyball team hosted the Patriot Invitational this past weekend and took the title home with a clean sweep in the tournament. The ladies had an incredible rally after being down by two sets and match point against the Kent State Golden Flashes on Friday. Mason won each of their final two matches in four sets. Junior setter Fernanda Bartels and freshman outside hitter/right side Ran Yin were named to the All-Tournament Team while sophomore middle blocker Kelsey Bohman was honored Best Hitter in the two-day event.

The men’s tennis team will host the Mason Fall Invitational on Saturday and Sunday while the other Mason teams will be on the road this coming week.

Midfielder Daniel Shannon found the back of the net twice as the American Eagles held off the Mason men’s soccer team 2-1 in the D.C. College Cup final. Sophomore forward Draymond Washington scored Mason’s lone goal in the 87th minute, but it was a little too late for Mason (1-1) to extend the game into overtime. Senior goalkeeper Sean Kelley recorded five saves. Washington, along with junior forward Parker Walton, who scored the game-winning goal on Wednesday night’s thriller against the Howard Bison, and freshman defender Ryan Reichmann was named to the All-Tournament Team. Mason will head down to Columbia, S.C. to participate in the adidas Gamecock Classic next week.

Senior middle blocker/opposite hitter Laura Turner committed six errors against the Kent State Golden Flashes last night and added another four service errors against the Cornell Big Red earlier in the day. In the end, Turner powered up for 12 kills while making just one attack error to post a .579 hitting percentage as the Mason women’s volleyball team defeated the Morehead State Eagles 25-18, 16-25, 25-13, 25-15 to win this weekend’s Patriot Invitational title.

Mason (5-2) built an early 14-3 lead in the first set, but the Eagles (5-1) rallied to cut the deficit to 21-17. Mason wrapped up the set, winning four of the last five points. Sophomore outside hitter Noelle Fanella recorded five kills in the opening set. The Eagles took the lead in the second set, but Mason fought back several times. Mason did take a 12-11 lead, but a service error from freshman outside hitter/right side Ran Yin sparked a 6-0 run by the Eagles. Mason eventually fell 25-16 in the second set.

Mason constructed a double-digit lead in the third set as they compiled three blocks and held the Eagles to a -.061 hitting percentage. The set concluded with a service ace from Turner, who had two in the match. Mason led throughout the fourth set. Senior outside hitter Rebecca Walter had six kills while junior setter Fernanda Bartels recorded 12 of her 36 total assists in the set.

Turner and sophomore middle blocker Kelsey Bohman each had 12 kills in the Patriot Invitational finale. Bohman, who was named the tournament’s Best Hitter, led the team with a .588 hitting percentage. 30 of her 50 kills came from this weekend’s tournament. Bartels and Yin were named to the All-Tournament Team while junior outside hitter Kaitlin Craven represented the Eagles.

Women’s Volleyball: Mason defeats Morehead St. 25-18, 16-25, 25-13, 25-15.

Women’s Volleyball: Mason defeats Cornell 21-25, 25-23, 25-18, 25-17.

The women’s volleyball team had their backs against the wall, trailing 24-22 in the third set to the Kent State Golden Flashes. Winning the next two crucial points and eventually taking the set, the tide shifted in Mason’s favor. Mason cruised through the fourth set, 25-16, and improved their record to 3-2 after winning the fifth set, 15-11.

Case for a good win: Mason’s offensive attack emerged in the latter sets, improving their hitting percentage in each of the five sets. Senior outside hitter Rebecca Walter and freshman outside hitter/right side Ran Yin each recorded a team-high 17 kills without the services of junior middle blocker/opposite hitter Holly Goode.

Case against: Mason had a total of 16 service errors, four of which came in the fifth set. Senior middle blocker/opposite hitter Laura Turner committed four service errors and was also charged with a team-high six attack errors. 10 of Mason’s 28 total errors came in the first set. Unfortunately, committing unforced errors does not justify this to be a solid win, especially when the Golden Flashes were just a point away from sweeping Mason in three sets.

Women’s Volleyball: Mason defeats Kent State 19-25, 25-27, 26-24, 25-16, 15-11.