Varsity Baseball
Mustangs Split First 2 Games;
Beat Tigers, Fall to Jaguars

By Jared Allan and Paul Mene (March 24, 2006)

The Mustangs split their first two games of the season, winning their opener at Brentsville, but dropping a high-scoring game against Falls Church High School.

Behind six innings of scoreless pitching by junior Byron Mendenhall, the Mustangs won their opening game of the season 7-0 at Brentsville last Friday. Senior Matt Foley went 2-3 at the plate, with a fence hitting double in the third inning. Center Fielder Paul Mene went 2-2 with 3 RBI and a sacrifice fly in the first inning. Byron Mendenhall chipped in at the plate with a bases-loaded single that drove in two runs for Mason.

Mendenhall endured against the Tigers’ bats for six innings, after which senior John “Rocker” Schwengel took the mound as the relief pitcher for the Stangs. Schwengel pitched one inning, striking out two of the three batters he faced. Behind Mendenhall’s and Schwengel’s stellar pitching performances stood Mason’s impenetrable infield which included Derek “Scooper” Blodgett at first base, John “I Give it My All” Root at third base,  and Jimmy “the Vacuum” Piscopo at shortstop. Mendenhall and Schlemiel switched off at second base to complete the Mustangs’ diamond.

In their second game, the Mustangs lost a hard-fought game to the Falls Church Jaguars, 12-11 on the Jaguars’ home field Tuesday. The ‘Stangs batted against the Jaguars’ junior standout David Acosta, who virtually shut down the Mustangs’ offense, allowing only two runs in four innings. The Jaguars took an early lead in the fourth inning, going up 12-2 with a three-run home-run by senior centerfielder super-star Tony Collins.

After four grueling innings on the mound, Schwengel helped the Mustangs to stage an attempted comeback for the win. In the fifth inning the Mustangs faced a new pitcher for Falls Church. Byron Mendenhall reached third base with two outs, setting up a sacrifice bunt by Paul Mene to score the third run for the Mustangs.

In the sixth inning Mason’s tight defense and overpowering offense ended the inning 12-9, with hits from nearly every player on the team. Not only did the Mustangs do a good job of getting on base, they played smart baseball.

With a two-out rally in the seventh inning, Jimmy Piscopo drove in Alex Prewitt, and a hit from Mendenhall drove in Piscopo. With Mendenhall on second base, Mene hit a single to drive him in, scoring another run for the Mustangs, tightening the score to 12-11. Unfortunately, the Jaguars were able to defend from there, holding on to the victory.

Strong performances were turned in by Byron Mendenhall who went 2-3 with a triple and a homerun, Paul Mene who went 2-4, John Root who went 3-4 and Brandon Ting who went 1-3. Matt Foley and Jimmy Piscopo also added to the effort with a combined 4 hits.

The team will host Word of Life this Saturday, hoping to rebound from their loss on Tuesday.