Good morning! And an especially good morning to everyone who stayed up to follow last night’s George Mason win over Dayton in the opening round of the 2023 Atlantic 10 Baseball Championship. Yes, we’re putting a couple of extra scoops of coffee in the machine this morning. No, we don’t regret anything.

What else are we tossing into today’s Brew?

⚾ We’re movin’ on
🏆 Pair of Patriots earn All-Conference honors
​⭐ And much, much more!

📈 STOCK UP

🔼 Flight Schooled. George Mason freshman third baseman Evan Blanchard drove in the winning run in the top of the 11th inning to give the sixth-seeded Patriots a 5-4 win over third-seeded Dayton in the opening round of the 2023 Atlantic 10 Baseball Championship at The Diamond in Richmond, Virginia last night.

💪 Pitch Perfect

Well, about as perfect as you can get. Starter Chad Gartland threw a season-high 120 pitches over 8.0 innings in a no-decision. Christian Mracna went 2.0 innings to earn the win and graduate student Nolan Lamere notched his first save as a Patriot.

⚾ How The Game Was Won

With two outs in the top of the 11th, the Patriots struck against Dayton junior reliever Parker Bard—Brett Stallings and Alex Knapp both drew a walk. Evan Blanchard then delivered with a single to center, with Stallings racing around from second to score the eventual winning run and vault Mason into a 5-4 lead.

The Flyers threatened in the bottom of the 11th with a leadoff double and a walk to put runners on first and second.

The Patriots made the call to the bullpen for Nolan Lamere. After a Dayton batter reached on a fielder's choice to load the bases, the Patriots slammed the door (and the game) closed with a pop out and a strikeout.

⏩ Up Next For The Patriots

George Mason will face No. 2 Davidson today in the next round of the 2023 Atlantic 10 Baseball Championship, with the first pitch scheduled for 3:00pm ET at The Diamond.

🔼 Turned The Page. George Mason women's basketball will welcome Washington D.C. product and Brown transfer Page Greenburg back to the DMV as a part of the 2023-2024 roster. Hailing from the nation's capital (and scoring over 1,100 points with 173 made three-pointers in just three seasons!) she helped to lead her team to a top-10 ranking in the DMV and the highest in school history.

A two-time captain, the transfer guard garnered All-State First Team honors, Washington Post All-Met Second Team honors and was a three-time All-ISL league honoree. Prior to her Second Team nod, she was also a two-time Washington Post All-Met Honorable Mention.

🔼 Serve’s Up. George Mason women's tennis saw a pair of student-athletes earn spots on the All-Conference Teams—Paige La earned a spot on the All-Conference First Team for the third consecutive season and Taylor Garcia earned All-Conference 10 Second Team honors in her only season with the Patriots. Both student-athletes excelled in the classroom, each garnering Academic All-Conference.

It's the fourth time in school history that Mason has featured two student-athletes on the All-Atlantic 10 teams. The two top players led Mason to a No. 8 seed in the Atlantic 10 Championship, its highest seed since joining the conference in 2014.

🎾 Paige La finished a decorated career playing all her singles matches from the top position for Mason, joining the Century Club by garnering 100 career wins. She is the only Patriot to be voted on the top team since joining the conference in 2012-13. The senior finished 12-9 in singles action and 14-12 in doubles at No. 1 with grad student Taylor Garcia, including 9-7 in dual action.

🎾 Taylor Garcia was in her first season with the Patriots and led the team with 15 wins from the second position. She notched a 10-5 record in dual action.

🤔 PATRIOT TRIVIA

Running away with it. We’ve talked transfers and new postseason venues, so why not one more women’s basketball nugget in today’s Brew?

Today’s question is straightforward—what opponent did the Patriots beat by the largest margin last season?

Think you got it? Scroll on down to the bottom of this email for the answer!

⭐ ONE BIG THING

The Atlantic 10 Conference announced that it has partnered with the Henrico Sports & Entertainment Authority to bring the 2024 and 2025 A-10 Women's Basketball Championships to the new, 3,500-seat Henrico Sports & Events Center in Henrico, Virginia.

The A-10 is one of seven conferences—among 32 leagues—where the women's basketball championship operates at a neutral site as a standalone event.

The arena, which is scheduled to be completed in September of 2023, features 39,000 square feet of event space, including four team locker rooms, two locker room areas for officials and ancillary meeting and support space. A high-tech LED scoreboard and full modern broadcast connections provide for enhanced television and streaming coverage of the championship. Henrico County is part of the Richmond, Virginia metropolitan area.

📬 STICK WITH US

Did someone send you the Patriot Brew? Well, the first thing you should do is thank them. The next thing you should do is subscribe here and get it in your inbox every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday morning just in time for your first cup of coffee!

📅 THE DAYS AHEAD

Wednesday 5/24

👟 Men’s & Women’s Track @ NCAA Championships Preliminary Round

⚾ Baseball vs. Davidson @ 3:00pm ET on ESPN+ | Live Video

Thursday 5/25

👟 Men’s & Women’s Track @ NCAA Championships Preliminary Round

🎉 TRIVIA ANSWER

Answer: Charleston Southern University!

Fun Fact: During the 74-34 win over Charleston Southern, each and every George Mason women’s basketball player that touched the floor during this early-season contest last year scored.

Have a great Wednesday, y’all.