Williamsburg, Va. - The William and Mary Tribe baseball team earned split its doubleheader with Delaware at Plumeri Park in dramatic fashion, dropping game one, 12-9, but winning the second in 12 innings, 5-4. With the split, the Tribe's record moves to 15-8 on the season and to 1-1 in the CAA.
Game One Box Score
Game Two Box Score
On the day, junior
Jonathan Slattery led the Tribe with a fantastic effort, going 7-for-8, including the game-winning single on game two. Sophomore
Tadd Bower was also great, knocking seven hits including two doubles and a triple. Sophomore
Chris Forsten had three RBIs on the day, while Slattery, sophomore
Stephen Arcure, and freshman
Ryan Brown all had two.
On the mound, sophomore
Matt Davenport came out of the bullpen in game two to move his record to 5-0, pitching 6.1 innings and striking out a career-high 10 batters. On the day, Davenport pitched 9.1 innings, striking out 13.
In the first game, the Blue Hens would jump on the board first, scoring five runs in the top of the third. The Tribe would answer back, cutting the lead to three with a RBI single from Forsten and a sacrifice fly from senior
Chris Jensen, making the score 5-2 after three full in favor of Delaware.
The lead would only stay at three for one inning, as the Blue Hens scored a pair of runs in the fifth to push the lead to five, 7-2. The Tribe would cut into the lead in the bottom of the sixth on a RBI double from Arcure, making the Delaware lead 7-3 after six innings.
The two team would trade runs in the seventh, with Delaware scoring one in the top of the frame and the Tribe scoring one on a RBI single down the right field line from Brown. After seven full, the Blue Hens led the College, 8-4.
In the eighth, the Blue Hens added to their lead, scoring two more runs to push their advantage to 10-4. In bottom of the inning, the College would respond, cutting the lead to three. With the bases loaded, Bower scored on a fielder's choice off the bat of Shaver. One batter later, after another run came across on a throwing error, Slattery plated the third run of the inning with a RBI single to right, making the UD lead 10-7 heading into the ninth.
In the final frame, the Blue Hens would score two more in the top, to push its lead to 12-7, but the Tribe would mount a comeback in the bottom of the inning, scoring a pair of runs on some Delaware mishaps. It would not be enough, however, and the Tribe would fall to the Blue Hens, 12-9, in the first game.
In game two on Saturday, Delaware again jumped on the Tribe early, taking a 3-0 lead into the bottom of the fourth. In the fourth, after singles from Slattery and freshman
Ryan Williams, Brown singled home Slattery with a hit to left center, cutting the Blue Hens' lead to 3-1 after four full.
In the fifth, the College would continue cut into the lead, narrowing the margin to 3-2 on an Arcure sacrifice fly to score Bower. After five innings, the Tribe found themselves down one to the Blue Hens.
After UD scored a run in the sixth, W&M would answer in the seventh. With one out, Bower blasted a triple off the fence in center and was plated on batter later on a sacrifice fly from Forsten, cutting the Delaware lead in half, 4-3.
In the bottom of the ninth, the Tribe finally tied the Blue Hens with some clutch hitting. After Brown was hit by a pitch to lead off the frame, Bower plated the freshman with his second double of the game, hitting off the wall in right field. With Bower's fifth hit of the contest, the College headed into extras with the game tied, 4-4.
After two and a half scoreless extra innings, the game headed to the bottom of the 12th with the College having an opportunity to end it. With one out, Arcure singled to center to get the potential winning run on base. After moving over on a groundout, Arcure was in scoring position for Slattery. Slattery, who was only retired once on the day, hit a looping single to right, scoring Arcure and giving the Tribe a 5-4 win in 12 innings.
The William and Mary Tribe baseball will conclude its three-game series with the Delaware Blue Hens at Plumeri Park on Sunday, March 28. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.
