WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - The
William and Mary baseball team defeated Colonial Athletic Association foe
Delaware, 10-2, Friday night at Plumeri Park.
Leading 2-1, W&M, which won its fifth straight, used a five-run
third inning to pull away from the visiting Blue Hens. The win improves the Tribe to 22-11 overall and
8-5 in CAA play, while Delaware drops to 14-16 on the year and 7-6 in league
action.
Senior RHP Matt Davenport (5-2) notched his fifth win of the
season in complete game fashion. The
Chesapeake, Va., native went the distance, surrendering only two earned runs
while fanning seven UD batters.
Davenport carried a one-hitter into the top of the seventh inning. Delaware's senior RHP Eric Young (3-3) worked
five innings in the loss.
At the plate, sophomore third baseman Ryan Lindemuth was
2-for-4 with four RBIs to lead the Tribe.
Senior left fielder Tadd Bower's solid outing consisted of a 1-for-2
effort, which included two RBIs and two runs scored. Freshman first baseman Michael Katz went
1-for-3 with a run driven in and a pair of runs scored, while classmate
designated hitter Josh Smith recorded an RBI while scoring a run. Senior catcher Chris Forsten and junior
second baseman Kevin Nutter each tallied an RBI on the evening.
Delaware took an early 1-0 lead after plating a run in the
opening frame. Junior second baseman DJ
Long led the frame off with a hit by the pitch and later scored after sophomore
first baseman Jimmy Yezzo connected on a double down the left field line.
W&M countered with a pair of runs in the bottom half of
the first to take the lead for good at 2-1.
With two outs and two strikes, Bower pushed across junior Ryan Brown and
senior Stephen Arcure with a bases clearing double to right field.
The College scored five runs in the bottom half of the third
as it extended its lead to 7-1. Brown
and Arcure led off the frame with a pair of singles. Katz then drove in Brown with a double off
the center field wall, giving the Tribe a 3-1 lead. With no outs and runners on second and third,
Delaware intentionally walked Bower to load the bases. Lindemuth then pushed the W&M lead to 4-1
by plating Arucre with an RBI groundout to third base. Katz scored the Green and Gold's third run of
the frame after Smith smashed a single through the left side. With one out and three runs already scored, Forsten
plated the frames fourth run after ripping a single up the middle that was just
out of the reach of the UD second baseman.
The inning culminated when Nutter's sacrifice foul out to right field
plated Smith from third, and after three innings of action, the Tribe commanded
a 7-1 advantage.
UD made the score 7-2 when it plated a run in the top half
of the seventh. Yesso led off the inning
with a single through the right side and later scored on sophomore center
fielder Cameron Travalini's triple to left center field.
The Green and Gold tacked on two more runs in the bottom of
the seventh inning as the margin grew to 9-2.
Lindemuth's one-out double down the left field line pushed across Katz
and Bower.
In the bottom of the eighth, W&M plated one more
insurance run to make the score 10-2. In
the top of the ninth, Delaware managed to get runners on first and second, but
the College closed out the Blue Hens with a 5-4-3 game ending double play.
Tribe baseball returns to action tomorrow as it continues
its series with Delaware. The first
pitch from Plumeri Park on Saturday afternoon is scheduled for 4 p.m. Fans can follow the action online at TribeAthletics.com
with live audio and stats.
