Williamsburg, Va. -
The
William and Mary Tribe baseball team completed its sweep of the George Mason
Patriots on Sunday afternoon, beating GMU, 3-2, at Plumeri Park. With its fourth-straight win, the Tribe
improves its record to 10-13 on the season and to 5-4 in CAA play, while the
Patriots fall to 9-11-1 on the year and to 0-6 in conference action.
Senior Jonathan Slattery
was 3-for-4 on the day with a
double and a run scored, while junior Tadd Bower
had a pair of hits and drove
in one for the College. Both Buster Gean
and Chris Forsten
had two hits on the day, while freshman Ryan Lindemuth
and
sophomore Ryan Brown
each had a RBI for the Tribe.
On the mound for the Tribe, junior Cole Shain
put together
another solid start. Shain lasted six
innings, allowing just one run on eight hits.
Shain also struck out four while walking a pair. Having started the game in left field, sophomore
Ryan Williams
pitched the final 1.2 innings for the College to earn his first
collegiate victory. Williams allowed one
unearned run on one hit and walked two.
After neither team was able to get a run on the board in the
first five innings, George Mason was able to get a score across in the top of
the sixth. Mason took a 1-0 lead over
the College on a Mick Foley RBI single to center field. After six complete, GMU led W&M 1-0.
In the bottom of the seventh, the College tied the game at
1-1 thanks to some clutch, two-out hitting.
With two down in the frame, Forsten doubled down the left-field line to
get in to scoring position for William and Mary. Next up was Brown, who smacked the first
pitch he saw just past the GMU third baseman for a double, scoring Forsten from
second and tying the contest after seven innings.
With the offense now alive, the College took the lead in the
bottom of the eighth inning, scoring a pair of runs. With one out, Slattery singled to
right-center field to get on base. After
a Mason error, Williams joined Slattery, putting runners on first and
second. Next up was Bower, who knocked a
single through the left side of the infield, scoring Slattery from second.
Lindemuth came to the plate next for the College, and with
runners on first and second, slapped a single through the right side of the
infield, plating Williams and giving the Tribe a 3-1 lead. The College came inches away from adding
another run in the frame, but Bower was cut down at the plate on a Forsten
single to right field. Entering the top
of the ninth, the Tribe led George Mason, 3-1.
In the top of the ninth, Mason threatened to force the game
in to extra innings for the second-consecutive day. After closing the gap to 3-2 on a Blaise
Fernandez RBI groundout, the Patriots had the bases loaded with two away. At the plate for Mason was Zack Helgeson, who
sharply hit a 3-1 offering at Lindemuth, the Tribe third baseman. The ball took a bad hop off the ground,
hitting Lindemuth in the chest. The
freshman stayed composed, however, collected and fired to first to retire
Hegelson, ending the game and securing the win for the Tribe.
The three-game series sweep for the Tribe over the Patriots
is the first for the College since the 1997 season. The series also marked the first sweep of a
CAA opponent for the Tribe at home since last season when the College took
three-straight against Northeastern.
Overall, the Tribe has won eight of its last 10 contests.
The William and Mary Tribe baseball team will hit the road
to face the Norfolk State Spartans on Wednesday, March 23. First pitch in Norfolk is scheduled for 4
p.m.
