GREENVILLE, N.C. - The
William and Mary baseball team fell at East Carolina, 13-4, Wednesday
evening. In a game that was tied at 2-2
heading into the bottom of the six inning, ECU scored eight runs in the frame
as it pulled away from the College. With
the loss, W&M falls to 24-16 on the year while ECU improves to 26-10-1
overall.
Junior center fielder Ryan Brown went 3-for-4 with a run
scored to lead the Tribe bats. Freshman
first baseman Michael Katz was 1-for-4 with two RBIs, while classmate left
fielder Josh Smith connected on his second home run of the season in his
1-for-4 effort. Junior second baseman
Kevin Nutter finished the game with one hit and one run scored. Sophomore Ryan Lindemuth rounded out the
W&M output as the Burke, Va., native finished the night going 1-for-4 with
a run scored.
On the mound, junior LHP Matt Wainman (3-4) took the loss as
he surrendered four earned runs in 5.2 innings of work. Senior RHP Chris Yates along with juniors RHP
John Sheehan and RHP Ryan Williams combined to pitch 2.1 innings of relief. East Carolina's junior RHP Andy Smithmyer
(3-2) pitched six innings of relief en route to earning the win.
W&M struck first with a pair of runs in the opening
frame. Nutter led off the contest with a
single through the middle of the infield and later advanced to second after
Brown singled through the right side.
After Lindemuth's groundout advanced both runners a base, Katz plated
Nutter with groundout out to the ECU shortstop as the Tribe took an early 1-0
lead. Brown scored the Green and Gold's
second run of the inning after advancing home on a passed ball.
ECU responded with a run in the bottom half as junior right
fielder Jay Cannon drove in sophomore shortstop Jack Reinheimer from third, on
a sacrifice fly out to center field.
In the bottom of the fifth, the Pirates scored a run as it
tied the affair at 2-2. ECU knotted the
contest up with an unearned run.
The Pirates went ahead, 10-2, after pushing across eight
runs in the sixth. After taking a 3-2
lead on a sacrifice bunt, junior catcher Sam King made the score 4-2 after his
single to left field drove in sophomore first baseman Chase McDonald. East Carolina finished the frame scoring six
more runs, but the last four were all unearned.
After ECU plated two runs in the seventh, making the score
12-2, the College got back on the scoreboard in the top half of the
eighth. With two outs and no runners on,
Lindemuth laced a single through the middle of the infield and later scored
when Katz connected on a single through the left side.
In the bottom half, the Pirates plated a run to make the
score 13-3.
In the top of the ninth, the Green and Gold tacked on a
final run. Smith made the final count
13-4 after he belted a 0-1 offering from sophomore RHP Drew Reynolds over the
left field wall.
Tribe baseball returns to action this weekend as it travels
to VCU for a three-game Colonial Athletic Association series. The series is slated to begin Friday, April
20, with the first pitch from The Diamond scheduled for 6 p.m. Fans can follow the action online at
TribeAthletics.com with live stats.
