THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, April 21, 1996 TAG: 9604210240
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C10 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PAUL WHITE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 54 lines
The George Mason baseball team knew all about the adage ``You can't hit what you can't see.'' Saturday, they learned you rarely catch what you can't see, either.
Old Dominion capitalized on timely hitting and the Patriots unfamiliarity with twilight baseball to post an 8-3 victory and salvage a doubleheader split Saturday at Bud Metheny Complex.
The Patriots, who don't have lights at their home field and hadn't played a night game since traveling to Florida in the middle of March, lost three catchable balls in the lights during a six-run Old Dominion third inning.
``A lot of this game is taking advantage of the opportunities that come up,'' said Old Dominion catcher Matt Quatraro, whose seemingly routine fly to right in the third fell 10 feet from George Mason's Rick Visconti for a double. ``They were struggling in the twilight, but the key is we put the ball in play to make things happen.''
In the opener, Patriots junior lefthander John Fulcher shut down the Monarchs on five hits in a 6-1 victory. It was Fulcher's first career nine-inning complete game.
Fulcher (6-2) fanned eight and didn't allow a hit until Tony Gsell beat out a grounder to second with one out in the fifth. The Patriots hurler came within an out of handing the Monarchs their first shutout of the season before Ron Walker singled and scored on Brian Fiumara's double.
``That was one of the the best-pitched games against us all year,'' Quatraro said.
Monarchs coach Tony Guzzo concurred. But he also took note of Old Dominion's self-inflicted wounds in gaem one - three errors and a disastrous third inning (five hits, three runs) by starter Justin Krieder - and challenged his players prior to the nightcap.
``I told them we had the top two teams in the CAA here, but one of them didn't show up to play,'' Guzzo said.
The Monarchs responded with three hits and a run in the first inning, the broke things open with their six-run third.
That was more than enough support for Old Dominion starter John O'Reilly (9-1), who went the seven-inning distance and struck out 10.
The Monarchs (31-11, 11-5) and Patriots (18-22, 6-5) conclude their series today at 1:30 p.m., with ODU's Jesse James (6-5) facing Shawn Camp (2-0). ILLUSTRATION: L. TODD SPENCER
Old Dominion's Tony Gsell dives safely back to first as George
Mason's Lee Kansteiner awaits the pickoff throw in the first game of
Saturday's doubleheader.
by CNB