SAN DIEGO, Calif. – The William & Mary baseball team fell 9-3 in the series opener at San Diego on Sunday night in California. With the decision the Tribe falls to 5-5, while the Toreros improve to 5-6.
 
Senior Charley Gould, junior Charles Ameer, sophomores Cullen Large and Ryan Hall, as well as freshman Kyle Wrighte led the Tribe with two hits apiece. Senior Josh Smith, Hall, and Large drove in the runs for the Tribe, while Josh Smith extended his team-high hitting streak to 12 games. As a team, W&M collected 12 hits in the setback.
 
The game was delayed for an 1:45 prior to first pitch because of wet field conditions.
 
San Diego opened the game's scoring with three runs in the home half of the first inning. Jeff Houghtby led off the inning with a single, moving to second on a sacrifice bunt. The next batter Riley Adams doubled down the right field line bringing in the game's first run. After a walk to Ryan Kirby, Troy Conyers doubled down the left field line, clearing the bases and giving the Toreros an early 3-0 lead.
 
William & Mary cut into the lead with a run of their own in the top of the third inning. Freshman Zach Pearson reached on a fielder's choice followed by a single from classmate Kyle Wrighte setting the table for the top of the lineup. Hall followed with another single, bringing around Pearson and cutting the lead to 3-1.
 
The Toreros got the run right back in the bottom of the frame. Jerod Smith led off the inning with a single to right, moving to second on a walk to Conyers.  With two outs, Hunter Mercado-Hood singled into right, scoring Jerod Smith and extending the lead to 4-1.
 
SDU tacked on a pair of runs in the bottom of the fourth inning. Daniel Gardner led off the frame with a triple, which was followed by Kevin Collard homering over the right field wall. The blast pushed the lead to a 6-1 advantage.
 
The Tribe added a run of its own in the top of the fifth inning. A one-out walk to Wrighte, who advanced to second on a ground out, put a runner on second with two outs. Josh Smith legged out an infield single, and Wrighte never stopped rounding third, scoring the Tribe's second run.
 
However, the Toreros would tack on two more runs in the bottom of the sixth inning.  Adams started the rally with a walk, moving to third on a double down the left field line by Kirby. Back-to-back walks to Conyers and Mercado-Hood allowed for the first run of the inning to score. The second run came around on a wild pitch. With one out, Brhet Bewley flew out to left field, and the Conyers, who was on third, tried to tag up but was gunned down by Hall at the plate halting the rally.
 
SDU got an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth inning. Adams led off the inning with a single, advancing to second on a wild pitch. A fielder's choice allowed for Adams to score, giving the Toreros a 9-2 advantage.
 
The Green and Gold never went away and added a final run in the top of the ninth inning. Wrighte started the rally with a single, followed by a walk to freshman Nick Butts. After an out, Gould singled loading the bases. Large came through with a two-out single, cutting the score to 9-3. However Jonathan Teaney, who pitched three innings, was able to get the final out and leave the bases loaded earning the save for SDU.
 
Senior Mitchell Aker, who made the start for the Tribe, was saddled with his first loss of the season. He tossed 3.2 innings allowing six runs on eight hits, while striking out two.
 
Gary Cornish got the win for San Diego. He pitched six innings allowing two runs, while scattering six hits. Teaney pitched the final three innings, earning his second save.
 
Offensively, Garder led the Toreros with three hits. Conyers, Mercado-Hood, and Collard all drove in two runs for SDU.
 
The College and San Diego continue their three-game series with the middle game tomorrow, Monday, March 7, before the set concludes on Tuesday, March 8. Both games start at 9 p.m. EST.