Norfolk, Va. - The William and Mary Tribe baseball team won its third-straight game on Friday night, beating CAA-rival Old Dominion, 4-3, at the Bud Metheny Baseball Complex.  With the victory, the Tribe moves to 5-11 overall and to 1-3 in CAA play, while Old Dominion falls to 7-8 on the year and to 0-1 in conference play.

Offensively, sophomore Tadd Bower went 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs, while classmate Chris Forsten also had a pair of hits with a RBI double.  Senior Jonathan Slattery continued his hot-streak, going 2-for-5 with a run scored and a RBI.

On the mound, junior Matt Davenport had a very solid start, going seven innings for the Tribe.  Davenport allowed three runs on four hits, striking out eight while walking just two batters.  Sophomore Brett Koehler would pitch the final two innings, earning his first save of the season.

After the Tribe went 1-2-3 in the top of the first, the Monarchs took a quick 2-0 lead over the College on a two-out, two-run home run of the bat of Chris Baker.  In the top of the third, the Green and Gold would cut the deficit in half.

With one out, sophomore Ryan Brown drew a walk to get on base.  After a single off the bat of senior Derrick Osteen , runners were on first and second for Slattery.  On a 1-0 count, Slattery hit a ball to the left side of the infield, just getting under the glove of the ODU shortstop, scoring Brown from second.  After two and a half, ODU led the College, 2-1.

In a game that featured two First-Team All-CAA pitchers in Davenport and Kyle Hald, the middle innings saw little offense for both teams.  With ODU still holding a 2-1 lead, the Tribe would get their bats going in the top of the sixth.

With one out, Slattery got on base with a single to right-center field.  Slattery was then joined on base when sophomore Ryan Williams drew a walk.  With runners on first and second, Bower stepped to the plate for the College and delivered, smacking a two-run double to the warning track in right-center field.  One batter later with two away, Forsten drove home Bower with a double of his own, blasting a shot to the track in left-center field.  After six and half, the College led the Monarchs, 4-2.

In the bottom of the sixth, Old Dominion would cut the two-run deficit in half on a solo home run of the bat of Joey Burney, making the score 4-3 in favor of the Tribe after six full innings.  After a scoreless seventh for the Tribe, Davenport would end his day on the mound in impressive fashion, striking out the side to end the seventh.

Out of the bullpen, Koehler would not allow a single hit in the final two innings, shutting out the Monarchs.  In the final two frames, Koehler would strike out five batters while walking five to earn the save for the College.  William and Mary would win the first game of the three-game set against Old Dominion, 4-3.

The William and Mary Tribe baseball team will continue its three-game series with the Old Dominion Monarchs on Saturday, March 12.  First pitch at the Bud Metheny Baseball Complex is scheduled for 2 p.m.