RICHMOND, Va. - The
William and Mary baseball team dropped a hard-fought, 5-4, decision at VCU
Saturday afternoon in game two of its doubleheader from The Diamond. VCU rallied to score three runs in the ninth
inning to win the series finale. With
the loss, W&M falls to 25-18 overall and 10-11 in CAA action, while VCU
improves to 22-18 on the year and 9-12 in league play.
Junior second baseman Kevin Nutter went 1-for-3 with a pair
of RBIs to lead the Tribe bats. Senior
left fielder Tadd Bower finished the contest going 1-for-4 with a run batted in
and a run sored. Junior shortstop Ryan
Williams belted two doubles and scored two runs, while sophomore third baseman
Ryan Lindemuth collected a hit and an RBI.
Junior center fielder Ryan Brown capped the effort, tallying a hit and a
run scored.
Senior LHP Cole Shain (4-2) worked 8.0 innings, surrendering
just three earned runs while striking out five.
Junior closer RHP John Farrell (2-1) took the loss, as he recorded a
strikeout in his 0.2 innings of action.
VCU's freshman LHP Matt Lees (3-2) notched the win in his 1.0 inning of
work.
W&M got on the board first as it plated a run in the top
half of third. With one out, Williams
smashed a double to left field and later advanced to third on senior cather
Sean Aiken's groundout to second. Nutter
followed with a single to right center field, which plated Williams for the
Tribe's first run of game two.
In the bottom of the fifth, VCU pushed across a run to tie
the score at 1-1. Sophomore center
fielder Bill Cullen drove in senior left fielder Paul Nice with a double down the
left field line.
The College responded in the sixth, with a trio of runs as
it regained the advantage at 4-1. Williams
connected on his second double of the day, this time down the left field line
to lead off the frame. Aiken followed
with a sacrifice bunt, which moved Williams to third. Once again, Nutter pushed across Williams
with a sacrifice fly to right field, giving the Green and Gold a 2-1 lead. After Brown reached base on a throwing error
by the VCU shortstop, Bower plated the Fredericksburg, Va., native with a
single to left field. W&M's third
run of the inning culminated on a Lindemuth single through the middle of the
infield, which plated Bower as the Tribe extended the margin to 4-1.
VCU made the score 4-2 after scoring a run in the bottom
half. Senior first baseman Brent
Mikionis plated sophomore third baseman Joey Cujas with a single through the
left side.
In the bottom of the ninth, the Black and Gold managed to
get its first two batters on base with consecutive singles. With no outs and runners or first and second,
Farrell relieved Shain. Farrell proceeded
to retire the next two VCU batters. With
two outs and two strikes, Cullen connected on a double to left center field,
which tied the affair at 4-4. On an 0-2
count, junior second baseman Jordan Weymouth drove in Cullen for the
game-winning run with a single to left field as the Rams walked-off with the,
5-4, win.
The College returns to action on Saturday, April 28, as it
plays host to Norfolk State in a doubleheader scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. at
Plumeri Park. Prior to the doubleheader
against the Spartans, Tribe baseball will honor the life and contributions of
the late Mr. Tommy Smith with a special dedication ceremony. Fans can follow the NSU action online at TribeAthletics.com
with audio and stats.
