NORFOLK, Va. – The William and Mary baseball team fell at Old Dominion, 6-5, in Colonial Athletic Association play on Friday night at the Bud Metheny Baseball. Complex. The Tribe was in control for most of the night, as it owned a 5-2 lead after eight innings of play. However, the Monarchs rallied with four runs in the ninth en route to the walk-off win. The setback drops the Green and Gold to 26-14 overall and 9-4 in CAA play, while the Monarch's improve to 19-18 on the season and 9-10 in league action.
Offensively, junior left fielder Willie Shaw led the W&M bats with three hits and an RBI. Senior center fielder Ryan Brown finished the contest with one hit, one RBI and a run scored, while freshman left fielder Jonathan Sarty tallied an RBI. Freshman designated hitter Charley Gould rounded out the offensive effort with a hit and a run batted in.
On the mound, junior RHP Brett Koehler earned the no decision after allowing just two runs in seven innings of work. The Andover, Mass., native fanned four batters and didn't surrender any walks in his 10th start of the season. Senior LHP Matt Wainman took the setback.
The Green and Gold initiated the scoring on Friday night with a run in the top half of the third. Shaw's two-out single to right field plated Brown from second as W&M grabbed the early 1-0 advantage.
W&M added to its advantage with runs in the fourth and seventh. The run in the fourth culminated when Sarty's infield groundout to the ODU shortstop was deep enough to plate sophomore first baseman Michael Katz as W&M went ahead, 2-0. Senior shortstop Ryan Williams led the seventh off with a single to the ODU second baseman. The Fairfax, Va., native later scored the Tribe's third run of the evening after Brown's double to the left center field gap.
The Monarchs responded with a run in the bottom half as it cut the deficit to 3-1. However, the Tribe countered with a run in the top of the eighth as Gould's double down the left field chalk pushed across freshman catcher Ryan Hissey as W&M controlled a 4-1 advantage.
ODU plated another run in the bottom half as Brian Beard's single to right field pushed across Conner Myers.
In the top of the ninth, freshman pinch hitter Brian Lee gave the Green and Gold a 5-2 advantage after his single drove in sophomore second baseman Ryan Lindemuth.
Down three runs and down to their last three outs, ODU rallied in the bottom half with four runs. After plating two runs, which made the scored 5-4 still in favor of the Tribe, Josh Eldridge ended the contest in walk-off fashion after his double to left field plated two runs.
The series continues tomorrow at 4 p.m. and fans can follow the action online at TribeAthletics.com with live stats. Additionally, fans can also listen to the radio broadcast on STAR 1310 AM.
