WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - Despite
out hitting Liberty, 14-10, the William and Mary baseball team fell to the
visiting Flames, 6-2, on Tuesday night at Plumeri Park. After the Flames initiated the scoring with a
pair of runs in the third, W&M countered with a run in the fourth as it got
to within 2-1. However, Liberty went on
to plate four more runs as it pulled away for the win. The setback drops W&M to 10-6 overall,
while Liberty improves to 11-5 on the season.
At the plate, sophomore Michael Katz led the Tribe bats with
a 4-for-5 performance, which included a run scored. Senior Ryan Brown also tallied four hits,
while senior shortstop Ryan Williams tallied an RBI on one hit. Junior left fielder Willie Shaw also finished
the contest with a hit and a run batted in.
Senior LHP Matt Wainman (1-2) took the loss after allowing
five runs, only three earned, in 7.0 innings of work. The Woodbridge, Va., native finished the
night with eight strikeouts, while surrendering only one walk. Junior John Sheehan and freshman Joseph
Gaouette combined to pitch two innings of relief. In 1.1 innings of work, Gaouette allowed no
hits while recording a strikeout.
The Flames got on the scoreboard first with two runs in the
top half of the third. With two outs,
Trey Wimmer's double down the left field line pushed across both runs as the
Flames got out to the early 2-0 lead.
W&M countered with a run in the bottom of the fourth as
it got to within 2-1. After reaching
base on a fielder's choice, Lindemuth scored the Tribe's first run of the
contest after Shaw ripped a two-out single into right field.
In the top of the fourth, Liberty pushed its margin to 4-1
after scoring a pair of runs. As it had
done in the previous inning, Liberty once again struck with two outs. This time, Bryan Aanderud drove in both runs
with a two-out single down the right field chalk.
In the bottom of the sixth, W&M plated a run as it cut
the deficit to 4-2. Katz led the inning
off with a single to right field in which he advanced to second on a fielding
error by the LU right fielder. The Falls
Church, Va., native later advanced to third after Shaw's groundout to second
base. With one out, Williams drove in
Katz with a blistering single to left field.
Liberty tacked on another run in the top of the
seventh as Nick Lacik scored from third after a W&M wild pitch. The Flames went on to plate an insurance run in the top half of the eighth, making the final tally 6-2.
The Tribe returns to action tomorrow, Wednesday, March 13,
as it welcomes VMI to Plumeri Park for a contest slated to get underway at 4
p.m. Fans can follow the action online
at TribeAthletics.com with live audio and stats.
