TYSONS, Va. (Interstat) – seed Saint Joseph’s faces seed George Mason on Friday in the opening round of the Atlantic 10 baseball championship at Capital One Park.

The Hawks (35-18) enter as the higher seed with a stronger overall record, while the Patriots (28-25) look to carry momentum from a dominant 9-1 win over Davidson on Thursday. The teams split a three-game series in Philadelphia during the regular season, with Saint Joseph’s winning the first two by scores of 17-9 and 15-6 before George Mason took the finale 9-6 in 10 innings on April 17.

George Mason will turn to right-hander Diego Cardenas, who has been a versatile weapon out of the bullpen and as a spot starter. Over his last six appearances, Cardenas has a 4.26 ERA across 21⅔ innings with 19 strikeouts. He earned wins against La Salle on May 15 (6⅓ IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 6 K) and Dayton on May 10 (5 IP, 0 H, 2 ER, 2 K). In his most recent outing, he tossed a scoreless inning with two strikeouts against George Washington on May 3.

Saint Joseph’s counters with second baseman Tim Dickinson, who leads the Hawks’ offense. Dickinson went 2-for-4 with two RBIs in Thursday’s 17-9 loss to Rhode Island. Over his last 10 games, he batted .257 with six RBIs. He is the Hawks’ top run producer, recording three RBIs in a win over Saint Bonaventure on May 3 and going 2-for-2 with three RBIs in a victory over the Bonnies on May 1.

Thursday’s win for George Mason featured a dominant start from Logan Rumberg, who threw seven innings of one-run ball with 11 strikeouts. Evan Blanchard hit a three-run homer and Jake Butler added a solo shot.

Saint Joseph’s was swept three games earlier this week by Rhode Island, losing 17-9, 4-3 in 10 innings and 12-10 in 11 innings. The Hawks’ pitching staff has allowed 10.3 runs per game over their last four contests.

First pitch is scheduled for 10 a.m.