Richmond, Va. - The William and Mary Tribe baseball team won a back-and-forth game with the Richmond Spiders on Wednesday afternoon, winning 9-8 in 10 innings.  With the victory, the Tribe improves its record to 17-15 on the season while the Spiders fall to 15-12-2 on the year.  The win earns the College a split in the two-game season series with UR.

Senior Jonathan Slattery hit the game-winning home run in the top of the 10^th for the Tribe, while sophomore Derek Lowe went 2-for-3 with a double and three RBIs to lead the College in the victory.  Sophomore Ryan Brown had a great day, going 3-for-3 with a RBI and a run scored while both freshman Ryan Lindemuth and junior Stephen Arcure drove in runs.  Junior Tadd Bower scored three runs for the Green and Gold and also drew two walks.

Out of the bullpen, sophomore Matt Wainman pitched 4.1 innings to earn his second win of the season.  Wainman allowed one unearned run on three hits while striking out four on the afternoon.  Classmate Brett Koehler pitched the final two thirds of the 10^th innings to earn his team-leading sixth save of the season.

After a scoreless first inning, the Tribe grabbed the early lead on the Spiders with a run in the top of the second.  After a walk to junior Tadd Bower and infield single from sophomore Ryan Williams , runners were on first and second for Lowe.  After working the count full, 3-2, Lowe hit a single through the right side of the infield, easily scoring Bower from third, giving the Tribe the lead, 1-0.

The College's led lasted for an inning before Richmond's Mike Mergenthaler hit a grand slam to cap a five-run bottom of the third for the Spiders.  After three complete, UR led the Green and Gold, 5-1.

In the top of the fourth, the Tribe responded with some very patient offense, tying the game with four runs in the inning.  W&M drew six walks in the frame while Richmond's three pitchers in the inning combined for three wild pitches and a balk.  Recording sacrifice flies for the Tribe in the inning were Lowe and Slattery, while Lindemuth earned a RBI after drawing a bases loaded walk.  Also, sophomore Kevin Nutter scored from third on a wild pitch.  Despite recording just one hit in the frame, the College tied the game at 5-5.

Once again, the Spiders would respond, retaking the lead in the bottom of the frame with a pair of runs.  After four full innings, Richmond led the Tribe, 7-5.

With neither team pushing across runs in the fifth or the sixth innings, the score remained 7-5 in favor of the Spiders heading in to the top of the seventh.

Leading off the top of the frame, Bower hit a laser down the right field line and cruised in to second with his fifth double of the season.  One batter later, Arcure took the first pitch he saw and blasted a double down the left-field line, scoring Bower from third. 

Next up was Lowe, who continued his great day at the plate with a double of his own, tying the game after Arcure scored from second base.  After Lowe stole third, the squeeze play was on for the Tribe.  Brown laid down a great bunt towards first base, scoring Lowe from third easily, giving the College an 8-7 lead.

In the bottom half, the Spiders once again tied the game with a sacrifice fly.  After neither team scored in the eighth or ninth innings, the game headed to extras with the score remaining 8-8.

In the top of the 10^th , there was one out when Slattery stepped to the plate.  After taking a first pitch ball, Slattery blasted the 1-0 offering to left-center field, clearing the fence for his first home run of the season.  Slattery's sixth career homer gave the College a 9-8 lead headed in to the bottom of the 10^th .

After Wainman struck out the first batter in the 10^th , Koehler entered the game and promptly stuck out the two batters he faced to close out the game and clinch the 9-8 win for the Tribe in 10 innings.