FAIRFAX, Va. (Interstat) — George Mason erupted for eight runs in the eighth inning and defeated La Salle 17-5 on Thursday afternoon at Spuhler Field, evening its record at 25-24 while dropping the Explorers to 24-29.

Logan Rumberg earned the win for the Patriots, throwing seven innings and allowing four hits, two earned runs and striking out seven. The right-hander improved after a rough start at Dayton on May 8, when he gave up six earned runs in five innings. In his previous outing against George Washington on May 1, Rumberg had allowed one earned run over six innings with nine strikeouts.

George Mason shortstop Owen Clyne went 4 for 5 with a home run and two RBIs. His two-run homer in the bottom of the second inning put the Patriots ahead 7-5 after the Explorers had tied the game in the top half of the inning.

La Salle’s offense was led by third baseman Rueben Livingston, who homered in the second inning and finished 2 for 4 with an RBI, and catcher Jayden Novak, who also homered in the second. Center fielder Chase Swain drove in two runs with a ninth-inning single.

The game turned in the bottom of the eighth inning with the score 9-5. Right fielder Drew Canody reached on a fielding error by the shortstop and advanced to second. After a walk and a hit by pitch, center fielder Luciano Terilli doubled down the left-field line, scoring two runs. Three straight hit-by-pitches brought in another run, and second baseman Julius Bagnerise walked to force in a run. A wild pitch scored a fourth run in the inning, and Canody then capped the outburst with a three-run homer to left center.

Canody finished 2 for 5 with a home run and three RBIs. Terilli went 2 for 4 with three RBIs. Bagnerise drove in four runs on a first-inning grand slam and an eighth-inning walk.

La Salle starter Marco Levari pitched four innings of no-hit ball, striking out four and not allowing an earned run, but the Explorers’ defense committed four errors that led to eight unearned runs. The Explorers used five pitchers. Reliever Matt DeStefanis threw two-thirds of an inning with one strikeout.

La Salle took a 5-0 lead in the top of the first without a hit, capitalizing on an error by Clyne at shortstop. George Mason answered with five unearned runs in the bottom of the first, capped by Bagnerise’s grand slam. The Explorers tied the game in the second on solo home runs by Livingston and Novak, but Clyne’s homer in the bottom of the second gave George Mason the lead for good.

The Patriots added two unearned runs in the fourth on a wild pitch and a sacrifice bunt, making it 9-5 before the eighth-inning eruption.

La Salle had won two of its previous three games, including a 10-8 victory over Saint Bonaventure on May 10. George Mason entered the game having won four of its last five, including a 9-5 win at Dayton on May 10.

The two teams will play again Friday and Saturday in Fairfax.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of George Mason 7, La Salle 6. Interstat’s ELO system gave the Patriots a 63.60 percent probability to win.