Williamsburg, Va.
- The William and Mary Tribe baseball team dropped a pair of games to the CAA
preseason favorites on Saturday, losing two contests to the James Madison Dukes
at Plumeri Park. The Tribe lost game
one, 6-4, before falling, 5-3, in game two.
With the two losses, the Tribe's record drops to 2-11 overall and to 0-3
in CAA play, while the Dukes move to 11-1 and to 3-0 in conference action.
In game one the Tribe was led by freshman Ryan Lindemuth and
junior Tadd Bower. Lindemuth drove in
three runs, while Bower went 2-for-3 with a RBI. Sophomore Ryan Williams was 1-for-2 with two
runs scored and two walks.
On the mound in game one, senior Logan Billbrough continued
to throw well, shutting down the powerful James Madison offense in his 6.1
innings of work. Billbrough allowed one
unearned run on three hits, striking out seven while walking four.
In the second game, Bower went 2-for-5 with a pair of RBIs,
while sophomore Ryan Brown went 3-for-5 with a run scored out of the leadoff
position. Senior Derrick Osteen had a
pair of base hits, driving in one. On
the mound, starter Cole Shain had a nice effort, going six innings, allowing just
one earned run on three hits.
In the bottom of the second, the Tribe got on the scoreboard
first, taking a 1-0 lead. Williams drew a walk to begin the frame and was moved
to third base on a Bower single to right-center field. Lindemuth was up next and plated Williams
with a fielder's choice to short. After
two full innings, the Tribe led JMU, 1-0.
Lindemuth was back at it in the fourth inning, driving in
another run for the Green and Gold. With
one out, Williams and Bower each singled to put runners on first and
third. Both runners would get into
scoring position for Lindemuth after each of them stole a base to put runners
on second and third. Once again
Lindemuth came through for the Tribe, hitting a sharp hit grounder to short,
scoring Williams from third, giving W&M a 2-0 lead after four.
In the top of the seventh, James Madison cut the lead in
half, before taking the lead in the top of the eighth, scoring three runs. Entering the Tribe's half of the eighth, the
score was 4-2 in favor of JMU.
In the bottom of the eighth, Osteen started the frame by
reaching on a fielding error by the JMU pitcher. Senior Jonathan Slattery would follow with a
double down the left-field line, putting runners at second and third. Next up was Williams, who battled through a
long at-bat to draw a walk to load the bases for Bower. Just like Williams, Bower fought through an
extended at-bat, drawing a walk to cut the James Madison lead to 4-3. Lindemuth stepped to the plate next and drove
in his third run of the game, hitting a sacrifice fly to center to tie the
game, 4-4, after eight innings.
The game wasn't tied for long, however, as the Dukes scored
a pair of runs on a Billy Logan two-run single up the middle to take a 6-4 lead
headed to the bottom of the ninth. In
the bottom half, sophomore Kevin Nutter started the inning by getting on base
after getting hit by a pitch. Brown joined him on base after reaching on an
error to put runners on first and second with no outs.
The Tribe's rally would stall their, however, as the College
would hit in to a 5-3 double play and then line out to end the game. In game one, James Madison would beat the
Tribe, 6-4
In the second game, the Dukes were the team that came out
and got its offense rolling. Scoreless
through the first four innings, JMU would score five runs over the course of
the next three frames to take a 5-0 lead heading into the bottom of the
seventh.
In the bottom of the frame, Nutter would get on base for the
College with one out after getting plunked.
After a single by Brown moved Nutter to third, Osteen plated him with a
single up the middle. After seven full,
JMU had a 5-1 advantage over the Green and Gold.
After holding the Dukes scoreless over the next two innings,
the Tribe's deficit stood at four headed in to the bottom of the ninth. Brown led the inning off with his third hit
of the game, a single to right field.
One batter later, Slattery singled down the right-field line to put
runners on the corners with one out.
After a Williams walk, the bases were loaded for Bower. Bower didn't waste time, drilling the first
pitch he saw into right field for a two-run single, cutting the JMU lead in
half.
But the College's rally would come up short, as Lindemuth
would line into a double play to end the ballgame. James Madison would sweep the series with a
5-3 victory in game two of the doubleheader.
For the series, the Tribe was led by Bower, who went 5-for-12
(.417) with three RBIs and a pair of steals.
Both Osteen and Lindemuth also drove in three over the course of the
three-game set. Williams also had a nice
series, batting 3-for-8 (.375) with three runs scored and five walks. On the mound, the Tribe's starters of Matt Davenport, Billbrough, and Shain were solid, posting a combined ERA of 1.89 in
19 innings of work.
The William and Mary Tribe baseball team will hit the road
to face Liberty University on Tuesday, March 8, before taking on the Duke
University Blue Devils at Plumeri Park on Wednesday, March 9. First pitch on Tuesday is scheduled for 3
p.m., while Wednesday's game is slated for a 4 p.m. start.
