WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - The
William and Mary baseball team defeated Norfolk State, 4-0 in game one, and 8-2
in game two, as it completed the afternoon sweep of the Spartans from Plumeri Park
on Saturday afternoon. In both games,
W&M jumped out to early leads and never looked back as it outscored the Spartans
by a combined score of 12-2. The wins
improve the College's overall record to 27-18, while NSU falls to 15-23 on the
year.
Game One
Junior RHP Brett Koehler pitched 4.1 innings, allowing
no runs and just two hits, but his seventh start of the season was cut short
due to an hour and forty-minute long rain delay. After the delay, senior LHP Cole Shain (5-2) took
to the mound for the Tribe, and worked 2.2 innings of scoreless relief en route to his fifth win of the season. Junior closer John Farrell came on in the
eighth, preserving the shutout with three strikeouts in his two innings of
action. Norfolk State's sophomore RHP
Justin Bhatti (3-5) worked six innings in the loss.
At the plate, senior left fielder Tadd Bower went 1-for-4
with an RBI and a run scored to lead W&M.
Junior center fielder Ryan Brown was 1-for-3 with a run batted in and a
run scored, while senior catcher Sean Aiken tallied two hits. Rounding out the Green and Gold output was
sophomore third baseman Ryan Lindemuth, who finished the contest going 1-for-3
with an RBI.
W&M got on the scoreboard first with a pair of runs in
the opening frame. After Brown reached
base on an error by the NSU third baseman, Bower plated the Fredericksburg,
Va., native with a double down the left field line. With one out and Bower on second base,
Lindemuth followed with another double to left field driving in the senior
slugger, and after one inning of play the College owned a 2-0 advantage.
The Tribe pushed its advantage to 3-0 after plating a run in
the bottom half of the second. Senior
right fielder Stephen Arcure led off the frame reaching base on an error by the
Spartans shortstop and later scored from third after an NSU past ball.
In the bottom of the seventh, W&M pushed across a run as
it expanded the margin to 4-0. With one
out, Aiken got on base with a single to center filed, and later scored when
Brown connected on a single to right field, giving W&M a four run cushion.
In the top of the ninth, Farrell retired the Spartan side in
order as the College preserved its fifth shutout victory of the season.
Game Two (Seven
Innings)
Senior catcher Chris Forsten tallied two RBIs and a hit to
lead the Tribe bats in game two against Norfolk State. Junior shortstop Ryan Williams and freshman
right fielder Josh Smith each recorded a hit, an RBI and two runs scored on the
afternoon, while senior designated hitter Sean Aiken and senior left fielder
Tadd Bower each tallied two hits and a run scored. Sophomore third baseman Ryan Lindemuth went
1-for-3 with a run batted in and a run scored, while freshman first baseman
Michael Katz drove in a run.
Senior RHP Matt Davenport (6-3) surrendered just one earned
run and struck out six in his five innings of action, as he earned his sixth
victory of the season. Freshman LHP
Jason Inghram worked a scoreless inning of relief in the sixth, while junior
LHP Matt Wainman pitched the seventh and final inning, allowing one earned
run. NSU's sophomore LHP Ryan VanAssche
(3-5) saw five innings of action in the loss.
Just as it had done in game one, the Tribe once again plated
two runs in the opening frame as it jumped out to an early 2-0 lead. Lindemuth's sacrifice fly out to right field
was deep enough to plate Brown from third for W&M's first run of the
contest. Bower scored the frame's second
run after advancing home from third on a wild pitch by VanAssche.
In the bottom of the second, the Green and Gold extended its
lead to 4-0 after scoring two runs in the frame. Aiken led off the frame with a single to right
field. The Alpharetta, Ga., native later
scored after Smith belted a double into left center field. With one out, Forsten drove in Smith with a
fielder's choice, which gave the College a four-run advantage.
Norfolk State responded with a run in the top half of the
third. Down 4-0, senior catcher Chris
Warren led off the frame with a single to right field. After advancing to second on a past ball and
then to third on a groundout, freshman Justin Lee plated Warren after grounding
out into a 6-4-3 double play.
After scoring a run in the fourth, W&M tacked on three
more runs in the bottom half of the fifth, as it pushed its advantage to 8-1. Lindemuth got the frame started with a
leadoff triple to right center field.
Katz followed with a sacrifice fly out to right field, which was deep
enough to plat the Burke, Va., native for W&M's first run of the inning. Having reached base with a hit by the pitch,
Smith was driven home after Williams smashed a double to left center
field. The Tribe's third run of the
frame culminated when Forsten laced a single to right field, plating Williams
in process as the College went ahead by seven runs.
Down to its last three outs in the top of the seventh, the
Spartans plated a run, but was able to complete the comeback. Warren led off the final frame with a double
to center field, and scored on sophomore left fielder Chase Kyriacou's two out
single through the middle of the infield.
With two outs and Kyriacou on first, Wainman preceded to strikeout the final NSU batter, as the College took the
season series, 2-1, with the afternoon sweep of the Spartans.
Tribe baseball returns to action on Friday, May 4, as it
welcomes the Old Dominion Monarchs to Plumeri Park for a three-game Colonial
Athletic Association series, with the first pitch from Williamsburg scheduled
for 7 p.m. Fans can follow the action
online at TribeAthletics.com with live audio and stats.
