WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - The William & Mary baseball team opens the 2016 season as they travel to Charlotte for a three-game series. The action gets underway on Friday, Feb. 19 at 3 p.m. The series continues on Saturday, Feb. 20 and concludes on Sunday, Feb. 21. First pitch on Saturday and Sunday are set for 1 p.m.
TribeAthletics.com caught up with head coach
Brian Murphy to discuss the opening weekend, preseason accolades, and the upcoming series against Charlotte. The video feature is available through the above link, or by clicking
here.
On TapThe William & Mary baseball team kicks off its 121st baseball season as they travel to Charlotte for a three game series starting on Friday, Feb. 19 at 3 p.m. The series continues on Saturday, Feb. 20, before concluding on Sunday Feb. 21. The final two games of the series are set for 1 p.m. first pitches. Following the weekend series, the Tribe opens a five-game homestand starting with the home opener against Liberty on Tuesday, Feb. 23. First pitch is set for 3 p.m.
Series History William and Mary and Charlotte meet for the fifth-seventh time in series history in the Queen City this weekend. The Tribe owns a 3-1 record against the 49ers all-time. However this will be the first meeting between the two schools since 2004. Also every game of the series has been played in Charlotte.
Scouting the 49ers Just like the Tribe, Charlotte opens its 2016 campaign this weekend. The 49ers finished the 2015 season with a 19-29 record and posted an 11-19 record in Conference USA. Last season the team posted a .250 batting average. They do return three of their top five hitters from last year, including their top-hitter Eddie Hull, who missed some time, but still finished the season with a .364 (8-for-22) average. The 49ers also return their top two home run hitters from a year ago in Zach Jarrett (7) and Logan Sherer (6). On the mound, Charlotte had a combined 5.10 ERA and had 290 combined strikeouts. Much like the hitters, the 49ers return their three starters that made the most starts last year in Sean Goeghegan, Josh Maciejewski, and J.D. Prochaska, who all made 13 starts last season. Goeghegan pitched the most innings (87.2) and had the best ERA (2.46), and strikeouts (58) among Charlotte pitchers. Loren Hibbs enters his 24th season at the helm. He has posted a 770-570-4 record in his time in the Queen City.
As Good as GouldJunior
Charley Gould has already been tabbed with some lofty preseason accolades. The senior was named a Preseason Louisville Slugger Third-Team All-American by the
Collegiate Baseball newspaper. The Lake Forest, Ill. native has also been named the Colonial Athletic Association Preseason Player of the Year by a vote of the league head coaches, D1Baseball.com, and
Perfect Game Magazine.
Preseason Accolades Senior
Charley Gould and junior
Nick Brown received preseason recognition on the Preseason All-CAA Teams this season. Gould and Brown each received a spot on the Preseason All-CAA Team, while Gould was tabbed as the league's preseason player of the year.
Post Season SuccessFor just the second time since qualifying for the CAA Tournament began, the William & Mary baseball team has qualified for the event for three consecutive years. The first two seasons, the Tribe reached the CAA Championship game. Over the last three seasons, W&M has made a trip to the NCAA Tournament and won the CAA regular season tournament.
On Deck The Tribe returns to Williamsburg for five straight games following the weekend trip to Charlotte. W&M hosts Liberty for its home opener on Tuesday, Feb. 23, before welcoming in George Mason on Wednesday, Feb. 24. Both games are scheduled for a 4 p.m. The College will then host Holy Cross in a three-game series at Plumeri Park next weekend. The series runs from Friday, Feb. 26 through Sunday, Feb. 28.
Fifth Gear The William & Mary baseball team was selected to finish fifth in a vote of the league's nine head coaches. UNCW was selected to repeat as champion as Charleston (second) Elon (tied for third) Northeastern (tied for third) were all picked in front of the Tribe. Delaware (sixth), James Madison (seventh), Hofstra (eighth), and Towson (ninth) round on the projected order of finish.
Home Sweet Home This season, W&M plays 24 home games in the friendly confines of Plumeri Park. In its 17th season of existence, it creates an excellent home field advantage for the Tribe especially under Coach Murphy where the Tribe are 33-14 in Williamsburg.
Face LiftThis season will be the first season the Tribe baseball program can take advantage of the brand new Joe Plumeri Indoor Baseball Practice Facility, which opened right before the spring season thanks in large part to a generous gift from Tribe baseball alum Joe Plumeri. The indoor facility overlooks the field, running up the third base line, and provides the program with over 5,700 square feet of crucial "all-weather" practice space. With wall-to-wall artificial turf there is space for three 15 feet by 75 feet areas for batting and pitching, complete with netting and pitching mounds. Additionally, there are areas for specialized training equipment for strength, speed, agility and skills development.
Commonwealth ClashOnce again the 2016 schedule is loaded with games against competition from the Commonwealth of Virginia. This year, W&M plays 14 games against teams from the Old Dominion. The Tribe squares off with Liberty (2/23, 4/27), George Mason (2/24), Virginia (3/1), Norfolk State (3/15, 4/19), Richmond (3/22), Virginia Tech (4/5), Old Dominion (4/6, 4/12), VCU (4/13), and James Madison (4/15-17).
Setting the SlateThis season W&M will play a challenging 55-game slate that was announced in January. The schedule features five teams that made the NCAA Tournament in 2015, two super regional teams, the defending national champion, and 24 home games.
Striking Out Cancer Once again the Tribe baseball program has joined forces with the Vs. Cancer Foundation in the hopes of raising money towards defeating childhood cancer. This year W&M is asking for supporters to donate money for each strikeout recorded by the Tribe pitching staff. Last season, the team participated in a fundraising campaign during the fall season and raised more than $6000.
On the Air All 24 home games will be radio broadcasted on TribeAthletics.com for free once again this season. Additionally a select few games will be enhanced broadcasted in HD, which will be announced later in the season.
