Norfolk, Va.
-
The William and Mary Tribe baseball team concluded a very good week on Sunday
with a 4-0 victory at Old Dominion. The
Tribe, who won four of their five games this week, improves their record to
6-12 on the season overall and to 2-4 in the CAA. Old Dominion falls to 8-9 on the season and
to 1-2 in conference play.
On the mound, junior Cole Shain
had his finest start of the
season for the College. Shain threw
seven scoreless innings, scattering five hits.
Shain struck out seven batters on the afternoon, surrendering just one
walk on the way to his first victory of the season. Sophomore Brett Koehler
would pitch the final
two innings to earn his second save this weekend. Koehler threw two perfect innings, not
allowing a hit or a walk while striking out three.
Juniors Tadd Bower
and Chris Forsten
led the Tribe
offensively Sunday afternoon. Bower
extended his hitting streak to 12 games, going 2-for-3 with two doubles and a
run scored. Forsten drove in two runs
for the College, while senior Jonathan Slattery
and sophomore Kevin Nutter
each
tallied a RBI. Senior Derrick Osteen
also had two hits and a RBI for the College.
After a scoreless first inning, the Tribe grabbed the lead
in the second thanks to two-straight two-out hits. With two down, freshman Ryan Lindemuth
hustled out a double off a hit down the left-field line to get in to scoring
position. Up to the plate stepped
Forsten, who slapped a soft liner in to right-center field, scoring Lindemuth
from second base. Forsten's fifth RBI of
the season gave the College a 1-0 lead over Old Dominion.
In the top of the fifth, the College would double its lead
over the Monarchs. With one away, Osteen
singled to center field to set the table for the Tribe. Nutter followed,
smacking a liner up the middle to move Osteen to third base. Slattery was next up for the College and
delivered with a RBI, grounding out to the ODU shortstop. After five and a half frames, the Green and Gold
held a 2-0 lead over Old Dominion.
The Tribe continued to add on to its lead in the top of the
sixth. Bower began the inning with a long double down the left-field line. After a sacrifice bunt from Lindemuth, Bower
was on third base for Forsten. On a 2-1
count, the squeeze play was on for the College.
Bower took off down the third base line towards home as Forsten laid
down a great bunt towards first base.
Bower scored easily on the well-executed play, extending the Tribe lead
to 3-0 over the Monarchs.
In the top of the ninth, the Green and Gold added another
run to its lead over Old Dominion thanks to some clutch, two-out hitting. With two down, sophomore Derek Lowe
doubled
down the right-field line to get in to scoring position. Osteen came through for the College, singling
home Lowe with a shot to center field.
Headed to the bottom of the ninth, the Tribe led ODU, 4-0.
In the bottom of the ninth, Koehler would sit down the
Monarchs in order to preserve both the shutout and the win for the
College. With their 4-0 victory on
Sunday, the Tribe won its first series at Old Dominion since the 2003 season.
The William and Mary Tribe baseball team will next be in
action on Tuesday, March 15, when the College will host in-state rival Richmond
to Plumeri Park. First pitch between the
Tribe and the Spiders is scheduled for 7 p.m.
