WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - The William & Mary baseball team opens the season as they travel to No. 2 Florida for a season opening series this weekend. The set gets underway on Friday, Feb. 17 at 6 p.m., continues on Saturday, Feb. 18 at 4:30, before concluding on Sunday, Feb. 19 at 1 p.m.
 

Game Day Information - Game 1-3 - at Florida
When	Friday, Feb. 17 - 6:30 PM Saturday, Feb. 18 - 4 PM Sunday, Feb. 19 - 1 PM
Where	Gainesville, Fla.
Venue	McKethan Stadium
How to Follow	Friday - Live Video | Live Stats Saturday - Live Video | Live Stats Sunday - Live Video | Live Stats
Social Media	Tribe Baseball Twitter | Tribe Baseball Facebook Tribe Baseball Instagram Tribe Athletics Facebook | Tribe Athletics Instagram Tribe Game Day Twitter | Tribe Athletics Twitter #RisingTribe
Stats (2016 Final Stats)	William & Mary | Florida | CAA
Game Notes	William & Mary | Florida
Probable Pitchers (W&M - UF)	Friday - RHP Nick Brown vs. RHP Alex Faedo Saturday - LHP Bodie Sheehan vs. RHP Brady Singer Sunday - RHP Daniel Powers vs. RHP Jackson Kowar
Tickets	FloridaGators.com | Tickets

On Tap
The defending Colonial Athletic Association Champion William & Mary baseball team start their title defense at No. 2 Florida. The three-game weekend series kicks off with a game on Friday, Feb. 17 at 6:30, continues Saturday, Feb. 18 at 4 p.m., before concluding Sunday, Feb. 19 at 1 p.m. The Tribe starts the regular season away from Williamsburg for the third time in the last four seasons.
 
Scouting the Gators
Fresh off a run to the College World Series, Florida opens the 2017 season by hosting the Tribe this weekend in Gainesville. After posting a 52-16 record, D1Baseball.com ranks the Gators No. 2 in the country. UF returns 16 players, including six starters, from last year's College World Series team. Dalton Guthrie returns a team-high batting average from last year hitting .305. He added 14 doubles, a homer and 22 RBI. Jonathan India has the second-best returning average at .303 adding 16 doubles, two triples, four homers, and 40 RBI. On the mound, the Gators return Alex Faedo, who will anchor the weekend rotation. Brady singer and Jackson Kowar are both scheduled to start this weekend as well. Faedo led the SEC with 13 wins last season and struck out 133 batters in 104.2 innings. Kevin O'Sullivan in his 10th season at the helm. He has posted a 396-189 during his tenure at UF.
 
Series History
W&M will meet Florida for the sixth-eighth time this weekend in Gainesville. The Gators have won all five games of the series. UF has hosted every meeting in series history. 
 
On Deck
The Tribe returns to Williamsburg for its home opener at Plumeri Park on Friday, Feb. 24 when they open a three-game weekend series with Lafayette. The series continues on Saturday, Feb. 25 at 2 p.m., before concluding on Sunday, Feb. 26 at 1 p.m. W&M opens mid-week play as they travel to nationally ranked Virginia for a Charlottesville Regional rematch on Tuesday, Feb. 28 at 3 p.m.
 
Establishing Success
The Green and Gold has established itself as one of the premier programs in the CAA. W&M has finished first or second in the league standings in three of the last four seasons, and has qualified for the CAA Tournament each of those four season, the longest such streak in school history.  During that run, W&M has won a regular season title (first in school history), a CAA Tournament Championship, and garnered two NCAA Regional berths.
 
Preseason All-American
Junior Cullen Large was tabbed Preseason All-American by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper this winter. Last season, the junior finished with a .328 batting average, 82 hits, 20 doubles, two triples, seven homers, and 46 RBI. The Chesterfield, Virginia native earned a spot on the All-CAA Third-Team, was named to the VaSID All-State Second-Team and to the ABCA/Rawlings Second-Team All-East Region.
 
Second Gear
The defending CAA Champion W&M baseball team was selected to finish second in the CAA Preseason Coaches Poll. The Tribe was only picked behind defending regular season champion UNCW. Charleston (third), Delaware (fourth), Elon (fifth), James Madison (sixth), Northeastern (seventh), Towson (eighth), and Hofstra (ninth) round out the poll.
 
Connect Four
W&M had four players selected for CAA Preseason honors. Senior Ryder Miconi was selected to the Preseason All-CAA team. Senior Daniel Powers and juniors Ryan Hall and Cullen Large also picked up honorable mention citations. 
 
Familiar Faces
The Tribe returns a huge group of its CAA Championship team from 2016 including all three pitchers in its weekend rotation in seniors Nick Brown and Daniel Powers as well as sophomore Bodie Sheehan. Additionally six of the eight of the position players, including junior Cullen Large and redshirt sophomore Kyle Wrighte, who started every game last season. In total, W&M returns 23 players from last year's roster.
 
New Kids on the Block
W&M welcomes 10 freshmen and one transfer to the roster this season. David Angstadt, Chris Farrell, Michael Goldak, Noah LoCascio, Brandon Raquet, Patrick Ryan, Jamie Sara, Forrest Smith, Wade Strain, and Matthew Trehub join the Tribe as freshman. Redshirt sophomore Nick Raquet, who transferred from North Carolina, is now eligible to play for W&M as well. 
 
Regional Recap
W&M rallied all the way to the Charlottesville Regional Final in 2016 making some noise along the way. After a suffering a loss in the opening game to Virginia, W&M picked up a 4-3 victory over Bryant, before topping Virginia 5-4 to advance to the Regional Final. The Tribe fell to Regional Champion East Carolina, 8-4. Seniors Ryder Miconi and Nick Brown as well as junior Ryan Hall were tabbed to the All-Region team for their efforts.
 
CAA Champs
In one of the most dramatic championship series in CAA Tournament history, the William & Mary baseball team won its second championship and first since 2001 last season. After losing its first game, the Tribe won two games to advance to the championship round. In the first game. they erased a 8-1 ninth inning deficit, before junior Cullen Large belted a solo shot in the top of the 12th inning to force the deciding game. In game two, W&M built a 9-6 advantage, but the Seahawks rallied to tie at nine. Josh Smith then blasted a grand-slam homer and the Tribe tacked on another run to win the title 14-9. Josh Smith was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Performer, while sophomore Hunter Smith, and seniors Charles Ameer and Daniel Powers were named to the all-tournament team.
 
New Bench Help
Head coach Brian Murphy announced the hiring of two assistant coaches this offseason. Both Pat McKenna and Chad Marshall joined the Tribe as assistant coaches. McKenna played for Murphy at Bryant and just wrapped up his professional career, while Marshall played and was the director of operations at Stony Brook.
 
Family Affair
W&M's roster features a pair of brothers on the team this season both of whom are in their first season with the Green and Gold. Redshirt sophomore Nick Raquet and younger brother freshman Brandon Raquet could each make their Tribe debuts this weekend.
 
Active Hitting Streaks
The Tribe has eight players that carry over hitting streaks from the 2016 season into the 2017 campaign. Senior Ryder Miconi has the longest current hitting streak with seven consecutive games. Junior Ryan Hall is just off of the pace with six consecutive games with a knock.
 
Setting the Slate
W&M announced its 56-game baseball schedule this fall. Twenty-six home games at Plumeri Park, four opponents who appeared in the 2016 NCAA Tournament, and a trip to the USA Baseball Complex in Cary, N.C. highlight the 2017 slate.
 
On the Air
All 26 home games will be broadcast on TribeAthletics.TV, via TribeAthletics.com again this season, for free. Additionally this weekend's series at Florida will be aired on the SEC Network Plus on ESPN3.