WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – The William and Mary baseball team cruised to a 13-4 victory over instate counterpart Norfolk State on Wednesday night at Plumeri Park. In the early going it was the Spartans who raced out to an early 4-0 lead, but the Green and Gold responded with 13 unanswered runs en route to the nine-run victory. The win improves the Tribes record to 22-13 overall, while the setback drops Norfolk State to 11-19 on the season.
Junior RHP John Sheehan (2-2) earned the victory after pitching 3.1 innings of relief in which he allowed no runs on just one hit. Freshman Joseph Gaouette, who made his first collegiate start, earned the no decision in 2.2 innings of work. Senior LHP Matt Wainman and senior RHP Ryan Williams each saw action in relief. Williams also finished the game with three hits and two RBIs.
Freshman catcher Charley Gould led the way at the plate with a 2-for-4 effort, which included three RBIs and two runs scored. Freshman designated hitter Brian Lee also drove in three runs and scored once in a 2-for-4 performance. Sophomore left fielder Michael Katz finished the night with three hits, three runs scored and two RBIs, while freshman right fielder Jonathan Sarty drove in two runs to go along with two hits and a run scored. Senior first baseman Jackson Shaver tallied a hit, an RBI and a run plated, while junior third baseman Willie Shaw rounded out the effort with one hit and two runs scored.
Norfolk State jumped out to the early advantage after scoring four runs in the top half of the third. The frame was highlighted by junior Cameron Day's two-run home run over the left field wall, which gave the Spartans a 4-0 lead.
The Tribe responded in the bottom half with two runs. Before the Spartans registered an out, the Green and Gold loaded the bases after a hit by the pitch and consecutive walks. With no outs and the bases loaded Sarty plated Lindemuth for the Tribe's first run of the contest with a deep groundball in the hole that slipped by the outstretched glove of the NSU shortstop. Lee made the score 4-2 in favor of the Spartans after pushing across Katz with a sacrifice fly to right field.
W&M tied the contest at 4-4 after plating a pair of runs in the bottom of the fourth. Once again, the Green and Gold loaded the bases as Gould's base-on-balls drove in senior center fielder Ryan Brown for the Tribe's third run of the contest. Sarty drove in W&M's second run of the frame and fourth of the night with sacrifice fly out to shallow right field, which pushed across Shaw.
In the bottom of the sixth, the Green and Gold put up a four-spot as it opened up a commanding 8-4 advantage. Lee drove in Sarty and Gould on a double down the right field line as the Tribe went ahead, 6-4. Williams, who was the ensuing batter, plated Shaver and Lee with a single to right field as W&M created a four-run cushion.
The Green and Gold extended its advantage to 10-4 after scoring two runs in the seventh. Katz led off the inning with a double off the left field wall and later scored on Gould's triple to the right center field gap. Shaver drove plated Gould for W&M's tenth run of the evening with a single through the left side.
The Tribe tacked on three insurance runs in the bottom half of the eighth. Katz's double to right field highlighted the three-run inning as the Falls Church, Va., native plated Shaw and Brown. Brown finished the contest with two runs scored, a stolen base and three walks.
The Tribe returns to action this weekend in a three-game set versus CAA foe James Madison. The series gets underway at Plumeri Park on Friday night at 7 p.m. and fans can follow the action online at TribeAthleics.com with live audio and stats.
