GAINESVILLE, Fla. - The
William and Mary baseball team dropped game one of its three-game set with the
No. 1 ranked Florida Gators Friday evening, 4-1. With the loss, the College falls to 2-3
overall, while Florida improves to 5-1 on the year.
Freshman outfielder Josh Smith drove home W&M's only run
of the contest with a solo home run to left field in the top of the third. Fellow classmate Michael Katz went 2-for-4,
while senior Stephen Arcure notched a pinch-hit double to center field. Senior Tadd Bower and sophomore Ryan Lindemuth each went 1-for-4, respectively.
After giving up a run early, senior southpaw Cole Shain
(0-1) settled in and pitched six solid innings against the nation's best
team. In his six innings of work, Shain
gave up just five hits and only one earned run, but was credited with loss.
Junior reliever Ryan Williams recorded two strikeouts in one inning of action.
Florida's Hudson Randall (1-0) earned the victory, as he
pitched 6.1 innings and allowed just one earned run on five hits.
The Gators jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead in the bottom of
the first. A Mike Zunino RBI sacrifice
fly to right field plated Gator Nolan Fontana.
In the top of the second, the College threatened to tie the score, but
was unable to put any runs across. Katz
led the inning off with a double down the left field line. With one out, junior
Kevin Nutter's sacrifice bunt advanced Katz to third, but the inning came to an
end with Katz stranded on the corner.
In the top half of the third, W&M tied the score up at
1-1. Smith led the inning off with a
solo home run to left field. After
Florida recorded the first out of the inning, senior infielder Tadd Bower roped
a double to center field. With one out
and Bower on second, the College was unable to take the lead.
Florida's Tyler Thompson nudged the Gators back ahead at
2-1, with a two-out home run to right field in the bottom of the fifth.
Once again, the Tribe positioned itself to strike in the top
of the seventh but was turned away. Katz
led the inning off with a single to center field. The Falls Church Va., native moved into
scoring position after stealing second.
Sophomore Bobby Klein's ground out to second advanced Katz to
third. With just one out and Katz on
third, the College was unable to drive the freshman home, and Florida escaped
the inning maintaining its 2-1 advantage.
Another W&M lead off double to center field, this time
by Arcure in the top of the eight had the College poised to tie the
affair. However, the Gators recorded
three straight outs in working their way out of the jam.
The Gators plated a pair of insurance runs in the bottom
half of the eighth to extend its lead to 4-1.
In the top of the ninth, Florida denied any potential Tribe rally and
held on for the 4-1 victory.
The William and Mary baseball team will continue its series
with the Florida Gators Saturday, Feb. 25, with the first pitch from
Gainesville scheduled for 4 p.m.
