Fairfax, Va. (March 2, 2011)-Mount St. Mary's opened the 2011 baseball season with a 9-5 loss at George Mason on Wednesday afternoon. Andrew Caron paced the Mount by going 2-for-4 with a home run and four RBI in the game.

Leadoff hitter Tommy Flynn was 3-for-5 with a triple and two runs scored while Michael Foster was 1-for-2 with three walks, two runs scored and a stolen base in the game. Shane Eyler added two hits and a stolen base for the Mount as well.

On the mound, starter Max Brittenham allowed four runs while striking out a pair in three innings of work. Karl Lamont took the loss, allowing a pair of unearned runs in 1.1 innings. Freshman Nick Riley struck out two in a scoreless inning of relief for the Mountaineers.

The Mount took the lead in the top of the third inning with a pair of runs. Flynn tripled with one out and Foster followed with a walk to put runners on the corner. Caron came through when he singled through the right side on an 0-2 pitch to even the score at 1-1. Kyle Kane followed with a sacrifice fly to plate Foster, who had moved to third on Caron's base hit.

George Mason had taken the lead in the bottom of the second when Nick Allen tripled and scored on a squeeze bunt.

The Patriots answered the Mount's third inning runs in the bottom of the frame when Jeremy Haas belted a three-run homer for a 4-2 lead.

Mount St. Mary's regained the lead in the top of the fifth on a three-run homer by Caron. Flynn singled and moved to second on a balk before Foster walked to put two runners on base for Caron, who belted a three-run homer to right field on a 2-2 pitch to put the Mount ahead, 5-4.

George Mason continued the back-and-forth game by scoring three unearned runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to take the lead for good. The Patriots (7-2) finished the scoring on a sacrifice fly and a Brig Tison RBI single in the bottom of the seventh.

The Mount returns to action on Friday, March 4, against Illinois State in a game that opens the team's five-game swing in Florida. First pitch on Friday is slated for 7:00 p.m.