After snapping a 14-game losing streak over the weekend, the GW softball team fell 6-3 to local rival George Mason Wednesday at the Mount Vernon Field.

Freshman Elaine Nescio took the mound for the Colonials (5-26) in the first inning, but George Mason quickly established a lead, scoring four unanswered runs in the first, due in part to a pair of GW errors.

The Patriots scored again in the second, and sophomore Heidi Penna replaced Nescio in the third. Penna was able to hold George Mason to its five-run lead for two innings before surrendering just one run in the fifth.

GW was plagued by defensive miscues throughout the game, ultimately committing five errors that allowed for costly and important runs to be scored by George Mason.

“Defensively today we made a lot of critical errors,” head coach Kim Staehle said. “Our offense is scoring some runs, so the defense has to tie it up and play tougher.”

The Colonials scored in the fourth inning and again in the sixth, but never matched Mason’s presence on the scoreboard. Freshman Sandi Moynihan and sophomores Lauren Wilson and Amanda Zakari all scored for GW, and sophomore Jordyn O’Donnell drove in one run. Penna, in addition to performing on the mound, also drove in two runs, something Staehle pointed out as a bright spot.

“Heidi had her first few at-bats today and she came through with those RBIs, which was clutch,” Staehle said.

Despite the loss, Staehle was optimistic about the team’s performance.

“Overall, we’re not disappointed,” she said, “Some kids are starting to get more comfortable at the plate and are doing better with two strikes, which is something we’ve worked on in practice. We did some good things with runners in scoring positions, so offensively I thought we did well today.”

Next up for the Colonials is a home game Friday against Fordham at 3 p.m.