FAIRFAX, Va. – George Mason pitched a pair of shutouts against the Norfolk State softball team on Wednesday afternoon in a doubleheader at the GMU Softball Stadium. The Patriots came away with an 8-0 win in six innings in game 1 and followed that up with a 9-0 triumph in five innings in game 2.

GMU limited the Spartans to nine hits on the day, while NSU did not help its cause with a total of 10 errors over the course of both games. The Spartans dropped to 12-24 overall on the year after their last non-conference games of the season. George Mason, meanwhile, ran its record to 21-24.

In game 1, GMU did not record its first hit until the bottom of the fifth. The Patriots already led 1-0 at that point after a pair of errors on NSU in the fourth allowed one run to score.

Another error on the Spartans in the fifth helped load the bases for the Patriots. Senior pitcher Liz Riley was on the verge of getting out of the inning when she recorded the second out on a force play at home. Back-to-back two-run doubles by Liz Seymour and Brooke Blankenship, though, put GMU up 5-0.

Four singles in the sixth and two more errors on the Spartans allowed the Patriots to score three runs to end the game on the eight-run rule.

Sarah Kleinfelter (4-5) pitched 4.2 innings for the win after allowing three hits and striking out three.

In game 2, the Patriots needed just four innings to score every one of its nine runs. GMU scored twice in the first on an RBI groundout followed by a run-scoring single. Four more runs crossed the plate in the second on three RBI hits and a sacrifice fly.

Casey Price’s two-run double highlighted a three-run fourth for the Patriots for the final 9-0 margin. Two Patriot pitchers combined to allow just five hits to NSU in five innings of work.

Seymour finished the day 4-for-6 with five runs and four RBI, while Blankenship went 4-for-6 with three runs and three RBI. Price also drove in three runs in game 2.

Junior center fielder Heather Dunning had two of NSU’s four hits in the first contest, while sophomore left fielder Devon Bitler added a hit in each game.

NSU will finish out the regular season with a three-game series at Hampton. Friday’s contest at 3 p.m. will be broadcast live on ESPNU.