Blacksburg, Va. - The William and Mary Tribe men's baseball team used an improbable comeback to defeat Virginia Tech on Tuesday night, 14-10. With the win, the College improves its record to 17-20 on the season, while the Hokies fall to 24-14 on the year.

Box Score

"That was a great win for us tonight," Tribe head coach Frank Leoni said after the game. "We battled through some early adversity and found a way to win in the end." Leoni added, "This was a huge win for our program tonight."

At the plate, the College used a total team-effort to complete the comeback. Freshman Tadd Bower had a great day at the dish, going 3-for-4 with three RBIs. Also collecting three hits and three RBIs was senior Lanny Stanfield, who hit two doubles and scored three runs on the day. Senior Jeff Jones also had three RBIs, with two coming on a homerun in the sixth inning. Sophomore Derrick Osteen also had three hits and also stole two bases for the Green and Gold.

The College got on the board first on Tuesday afternoon, taking a 2-0 lead in the top of the second inning. With one out, Bower singled up the middle for the Tribe's first hit of the game. After Bower moved to second on a groundout, senior James Williamson did a nice job of hitting, singling down the right field line, bringing home Bower.

The next batter for W&M, junior Chris Jensen, did a great job of hustling down the line on a dribbler to the Hokies' third baseman, beating the throw by a half-step and extending the inning for the Tribe. With runners on first and second, Stanfield brought home Williamson with a single of his own down the right field line, giving the College a 2-0 advantage.

Virginia Tech answered the Tribe in a big way, scoring six runs in the bottom of the third and then tacked on another in the fourth to take a 7-2 lead heading into the fifth inning. In the top of the fifth, however, the College would chip away at the Hokies' lead.

Stanfield would begin the top of the fifth inning with a double to deep center field, one- hopping the fence. After an Osteen single to left field, the College had runners on first and third. Senior Tyler Stampone then plated Stanfield with a sharply-hit liner to right field, scoring a run on the sacrifice fly and cutting the VT lead to 7-3.

Just like in the second inning, a great hustle play extended the inning for William and Mary in the fifth inning. Senior Rob Nickle stepped to the plate, and after an Osteen steal of second, had a runner in scoring position. Nickle hit a slow grounder down the third base line, forcing the third baseman to charge. Nickle, running the entire way, beat the throw and kept the Tribe rally alive.

After a Nickle steal of second, the College had runners at second and third for Bower. The rookie came through for the Tribe, smashing a double to the left center field fence, scoring both Osteen and Nickle, and trimming the Virginia Tech lead to 7-5.

The Tribe wasn't able to keep the score at 7-5, however, as the Hokies answered with three runs of their own in the bottom of the fifth. With two outs already in the top of the sixth, Stanfield reached base for the third time in the game after getting hit by a pitch. Up next was Jones, who crushed a 3-1 offering deep over the left center field fence for his second homer of the season. With the two-run shot, William and Mary cut the lead to 10-7 after six innings.

The College added another run in the seventh inning, cutting the Virginia Tech lead to 10-8. Stampone started the inning with a single up the middle and was then joined on base by Nickle when he reached on a fielder's choice while Stampone moved to second on a throwing error by the third baseman.

With runners on first and second, Bower sacrificed both up a base with a sacrifice bunt down the third base line. Freshman Chris Forsten then grounded out sharply to third, bringing home Stampone, making the score 10-8 in favor of VT.

With one more chance to bat, the Tribe's offense exploded in the top of the ninth inning. Osteen led off with a bloop single to right field that was followed by a double to deep left center by Stampone, putting runners at second and third for the College. One batter later, Bower singled to the second baseman, scoring Osteen and cutting the lead to 10-9.

William and Mary then completed the comeback on a peculiar play. Forsten hit a grounder up the middle, hitting the VT pitcher. The ball bounced right to the second baseman, however, and as he attempted to tag Bower running to second, he dropped the ball, allowing Bower to remain at second and for Forsten to reach on a fielder's choice and get the RBI, tying the game at 10-10.

The bases were then loaded when freshman Stephen Arcure was hit by a pitch. Up to the plate stepped Jensen, who gave the College the lead for the first time since the third inning with a RBI groundout to second base.

Stanfield then came through once again for W&M, blasting a double down the left field line, scoring both Arcure and Forsten. The Tribe wasn't finished, however, as Jones then added to the lead with a single to right field, driving home Stanfield.

With a six run outburst in the top of the ninth inning, William and Mary shocked the crowd at English Field on the campus of Virginia Tech, taking a 14-10 lead into the bottom of the ninth inning.

In the bottom of the ninth inning, freshman Matt Davenport closed the door on the Hokies, striking out the side, earning the win and moving his record on the season to 5-1. The rookie pitched three shutout innings out of the bullpen to earn his team-high fifth victory. Also pitching well for the Tribe out of the bullpen was fellow freshman Garrison Sarrett, who pitched two innings, not allowing a hit while giving up a run and striking two out.

"With got three great efforts from three freshman pitchers tonight," Leoni said. "Obviously Matt was great, but I thought Cole (Shain) and Garrett (Sarrett) all pitched well."

The William and Mary Tribe baseball team will continue on its four-game road trip when it heads to Norfolk, Virginia to take on CAA-rival Old Dominion in a pivotal three-game series. The first game of the three-game set is scheduled for Friday, April 24 with the first pitch at 7 p.m.