WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – In its bid to become just the fourth W&M team since 1985 to win nine consecutive games, the William and Mary baseball team fell to High Point, 7-5, in 10 innings on Friday night at Plumeri Park. Trailing 5-1 as play entered the bottom of the seventh, W&M rallied and tied the contest after plating four runs in the frame. However, the Panthers plated two runs in the top half of the 10th en route to the two-run victory. The Tribe falls to 18-9 on the season, while High Point improves to 14-12 with the win.
At the plate, junior second baseman Ryan Lindemuth led the way with two hits, three RBIs and a run scored. Sophomore first baseman Michael Katz and freshman catcher Ryan Hissey each registered a hit and a run batted in, while freshman designated hitter Charley Gould finished the night with two hits and a run scored. Senior center fielder Ryan Brown and freshman left fielder Jonathan Sarty rounded out the effort with a hit and a run scored each.
Senior RHP Brett Koehler (3-2) earned the no decision as he pitched 6.0 innings, allowing four earned runs on 12 hits and eight strikeouts. In relief action, freshman Joseph Gaouette worked an inning and a third, while junior John Sheehan (1-2) took the setback after allowing two runs in the 10th. In his 13th appearance of the season, freshman Mitchell Aker retired the final out of the 10th inning.
The Panthers struck first with a run in the opening inning. After the Tribe retired the first two batters, senior utility Ryan Retz's two-out bloop single to right field pushed across sophomore catcher Josh Spano as High Point took the early 1-0 lead.
High Point extended its advantage to 3-0 after scoring a pair of runs in the top half of the second. With runners on first and second, senior left fielder Devin Bujnovsky accounted for both scores with a single to right field, which turned into Bunjnovsky ending up on third due to a W&M fielding error.
In the top of the fourth, High Point tacked on two more runs as its advantage increased, 5-0. With two outs, the Panthers managed to plate two runs thanks to sophomore catcher Josh Spano's two-RBI double to left field.
The Tribe got on the board as it plated a run in the bottom half of the fourth. Gould led the inning off with a blistering double to deep left center field and later advanced to third following Shaw's single through the left side. Hissey plated the Lake Forest, Ill., native, W&M's first run of the contest, with a fielder's choice to second.
W&M tied the contest at 5-5 after putting up a four-spot in the seventh. After loading the bases on a pair of errors and a single, Lindemuth cleared the bases, pushing across senior Jackson Shaver, Sarty and Brown, after smashing a triple that reached the left center field wall. Katz followed and plated the Burke, Va., native with an RBI infield groundout to second, which tied the contest at 5-5.
As play entered extra innings, High Point scored the go-ahead runs in the top half of the 10th. With runners on second and third, senior pinch hitter Scott Glover connected on a double down the right field line, which scored High Point's sixth and seventh runs of the night.
The Green and Gold got a man on base in the bottom half, as Hissey's one-out single to right field gave the Tribe momentum. However, the Panthers retired the next two batters to preserve the win.
The series continues tomorrow with the first pitch from Plumeri Park scheduled for 4 p.m. Fans can follow the action online at TribeAthletics.com with live audio and stats.
