Williamsburg, Va. -
The
William and Mary Tribe baseball team won its second-straight game on Wednesday
night, defeating the visiting Duke Blue Devils, 7-4, at Plumeri Park. With the win, the Tribe improves its record
on the season to 4-11, while Duke falls to 11-3 on the year.
Senior Jonathan Slattery
continued his torrid hitting of
late for the Tribe, going 3-for-5 with three doubles, two RBIs, and two runs
scored to pace the Tribe's offense.
Classmate Derrick Osteen
also had three hits for the College, scoring a
pair of runs, while junior Tadd Bower
drove in a pair on the day. Junior Chris Forsten
was 2-for-4 with a RBI,
while sophomore Ryan Williams
also knocked in a run.
On the mound for the College, sophomore Brett Goodloe
pitched well, going six innings in his first start of the year. In his six innings of work, Goodloe allowed
three earned runs on seven hits, striking out four while not walking a batter. Senior Reid Killen
would pick up where
Goodloe left off, pitching the final three innings to earn the save. Killen struck out five batters while
surrendering just one hit.
On a cloudy, windy afternoon in Williamsburg, both offenses
got on the board early with a pair of runs apiece. After Duke scored two in the top of the
frame, the Tribe answered with two runs of its own in the bottom half. With one out, Osteen singled through the left
side. Osteen then moved to third on a
Slattery double to left that went over the Duke outfielder's head. One batter later, Bower took a 2-2 pitch and
drove it to right center for a bases-clearing double. After one full inning, the game was tied at
2-2.
Duke would strike again in the top of the second, scoring
one run to take a 3-2 lead after one and a half. After not getting a run in the bottom of the
second, the Tribe tied the game with a run in the bottom of the third. After Slattery hit his second double of the
game, Williams plated the senior with a RBI single to left-center field. Williams' 11th
RBI of the season
tied the game at the end of three, 3-3.
Once again, the Blue Devils would answer the Tribe's offense
with some of their own, taking the lead right back from the College with a run
in the top of the fourth.
In the bottom of the fifth, the Green and Gold took
advantage of a Duke error and had some timely hitting to reclaim the lead from
the Blue Devils. With runners on first
and second with one out, the Blue Devils' pitcher attempted to pick off
sophomore Jackson Shaver
at first, but his attempt would go astray and get away
from the Duke first baseman. The errant
throw would allow Bower to score from second and moved Shaver all the way to
third. After the error, Forsten sent the
first pitch he saw at the plate and blasted a RBI single to left field, giving
the Tribe a 5-4 lead after five innings.
In the bottom of the eighth, the Tribe tacked on a pair of
runs to its lead on a clutch double from Slattery. With two outs, runners were on first and
second for Slattery, who promptly delivered for the College, knocking his third
double of the game over the left-fielder's head, scoring a pair.
The three run lead would be plenty for Killen, who set down
the Blue Devils in order in the bottom of the ninth, securing the win with his
first save of the season. William and
Mary would win its second-straight with a 7-4 decision over the Duke Blue
Devils.
The William and Mary Tribe baseball team will hit the road
this weekend for a three-game series against CAA-rival Old Dominion, starting
on Friday, March 11. First pitch in
Norfolk is slated for 5 p.m.
