SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Wofford baseball team claimed the weekend series over George Mason with a 15-13 victory in Sunday's rubber match at Russell C. King Field. The Patriots attempted a comeback in the ninth inning, but Clay Schwaner worked out of the jam to secure the win for the Terriers.
 
Wofford improves to 2-1 to begin the year while George Mason drops to 1-2. The Terriers claim their first series victory of 2022 with the result, the fifth-straight season that Wofford has won its first three-game series.
 
"It was good to get back out on the field for the first time in a while," said junior outfielder Zeb Roos. "We just played our style of baseball, and we came out with the series win."
 
Dalton Rhadans earned the win out of the bullpen for Wofford. In 2.2 innings of work, the senior right-hander struck out two batters while walking two. He gave up five runs on five hits. Dom Marcoccio started the contest for the Terriers, tossing 3.0 innings of three-run (two earned) baseball. He fanned five. Devon Sharts was first out of the bullpen, hurling 1.1 innings and allowing three runs. He struck out two batters. Next was Rhadans, and Clay Schwaner pitched the final 2.0 innings. The fifth-year righty surrendered two runs, both in the ninth, and recorded one punchout.
 
Christian Mracna received the loss as the first Patriot out of the bullpen. In 1.0 inning of work, Mracna allowed three runs on two hits and two free passes.
 
Jack Renwick and Zeb Roos powered the Terriers offense, each knocking in three runs. Renwick enjoyed a three-hit day, and Roos tallied two hits, including his first long ball of the season. Lawson Hill also recorded three RBI and worked two walks.
 
"I was just looking for a pitch in my spot, trying to do damage early in the count," said Roos of his three-run homer in the sixth inning. "And the pitch was there, and I took a good swing on it."
 
Wofford's offense recorded eight hits on the day. Though outhit by George Mason's 14, the Terriers worked the count to draw 10 free passes. Only three Terriers were left on base as opposed to seven stranded Patriots. Overall, Wofford's bats were on fire over the three-game set as the Terriers totaled 37 runs on 33 hits.
 
"Our offense looked great," said sophomore infielder Jack Renwick. "A lot of guys had a lot of really good at-bats. We put together some big innings, and it worked out for us."
 
Wofford struck first, grabbing a quick two-run lead. With two runners on in the first, George Mason starter Danny Hosely tried to pick Jack Renwick off at first but sailed the throw. The error allowed Nolen Hester to come home for the game's first run. Lawson Hill then brought Renwick in with a sacrifice fly.
 
The Patriots then went on the offensive, cutting the lead in half with a home run in the second inning.
 
A throwing error on a stolen base in the third inning brought the tying run home for George Mason, and the go-ahead run scored via a single to left field.
 
A two-run double in the fourth inning extended George Mason's lead to 5-2, and a two-run homer in the following inning made the score 7-2.
 
However, the Wofford bats came back to life in the bottom half of the inning. Renwick's single to right field plated two Terriers, and a Hill groundout brought home another run. Just 90 feet away, Renwick took off for the plate, catching the Patriots off guard to successfully steal home, making it a one-run ballgame. Wofford trailed only 7-6.
 
The Terriers opened the floodgates with a massive sixth inning to regain the lead. A fielder's choice on a sacrifice bunt attempt allowed the batter, Shane Lussier to reach base, but more importantly, it brought Trey Yunger home for the tying run. Renwick was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to plate the leading run. Back-to-back bases loaded walks, worked by Hill and Brennen Dorighi, brought in a couple more. A double play plated one more Terrier, but even with two outs Wofford was not done yet. Gunnar Johnson delivered an RBI single up the middle. This brought Zeb Roos up to the dish, where he launched his first homer of the season over the left center fence. The three-run blast gave Wofford a 15-7 lead after six innings.
 
The explosive sixth inning saw the Terriers bat around, bringing 12 batters to the dish. The nine runs came on only three hits, as Wofford hitters worked six walks in the frame, plus a hit batsman. Three different George Mason pitchers took the hill in that inning, the first two of which did not record a single out.
 
The Patriots began to chip away, though, getting two runs back with a single to right center in the top of the seventh. Another two-RBI single, this time up the middle, brought George Mason within four runs. Wofford's lead was 15-11.
 
In the top of the ninth, George Mason loaded the bases with no outs to open the frame. Clay Schwaner recorded a punchout and got a pop-out on an infield fly to get the Patriots down to their last out. With the lineup flipped back to the top, the Patriots plated two on a single through the right side to pull within two runs. But the comeback attempt fell short as Schwaner clamped down to get another infield pop-out to work out of the jam and secure the win for the Terriers. Wofford held on for the 15-13 triumph to claim the series.
 
"It's great to be back out here on the field," said Renwick. "After dropping the first one, we came back here, stayed focused and got the next two. That's going to give us a lot of confidence and momentum going into our midweek."
 
The Terriers will hit the road for that midweek affair with Georgia in Athens on Tuesday evening. First pitch against the Bulldogs is set for 5:00 p.m. Wofford then moves over to Fluor Field in Greenville, S.C. for a pair of neutral site contests, first against Monmouth on Friday, Feb. 25 and then against Marist on Saturday, Feb. 26.