RADFORD, Va. – The William and Mary baseball team dropped a mid-week contest at Radford 4-1 on Tuesday evening. With the decision the Tribe falls to 12-12 overall, while the Highlanders improve to 16-11.
Freshman Cullen Large collected the Tribe's only RBI, while sophomore Porter Reinhart scored the team's lone run.
W&M jumped on the board first with a run in the top of the third inning. Reinhart started the rally with a one-out double. The Tribe wasted little time, as the next batter, Large roped a single up the middle, giving the Green and Gold a 1-0 lead.
Radford took its first lead with a pair of runs in the bottom of the fourth inning. Josh Gardiner led off the inning, reaching on a wild pitch after a strikeout. After Gardiner stole second, and moved to third on a fly out, Patrick Marshall lifted a two-run homer over the right center field wall. The blast gave the Highlanders a 2-1 advantage.
Junior reliever Andrew White inherited runners on the corners with nobody out in the bottom of the sixth inning. The junior was able to get three consecutive outs to preserve the score at 2-1 Radford.
For the second straight inning, W&M escaped a jam to keep the score at 2-1 in the bottom of the seventh inning. This time with runners on first and second, an infield single allowed for Jordan Taylor to reach, but on the play Danny Hrbek was gunned down trying to extend Radford's lead.
The Highlanders broke through and added a pair of insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth inning. Radford was able load the bases with nobody out, before Marshall reached on a fielder's choice, and Hrbek singled, giving Radford a 4-1 advantage.
Freshman Robert White made the start for the Green and Gold, and pitched well. He allowed two runs (one earned) on just three hits, and three strikeouts in five innings, however he was saddled with his second loss of the season. Andrew White allowed just two hits with a strikeout in 1.1 innings.
The Green and Gold continues its nine-game road trip and concludes mid-week play this week when they travel to Old Dominion tomorrow, Wednesday, April 1. First pitch between the Tribe and the Monarchs is set for 6 p.m.
