WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – Following adjustments to the William & Mary baseball schedule due to rain, the Tribe will host UMass Lowell for its mid-week game on Thursday and kick off a three-game weekend series with Rhode Island the next day.
On Tap
William & Mary will compete in four straight games in the comfortable confines of Plumeri Park, starting on Thursday. The Green & Gold welcomes UMass Lowell on Thursday and conclude its season-long eight-game homestead with a three-game weekend series against Rhode Island.
Scouting the River Hawks
UMass Lowell is seeking its for fourth straight win. The River Hawks swept a doubleheader against Manhattan (March 12) and defeated Delaware on Monday (March 13) to improve their record to 7-6. UMass Lowell is hitting .254 as a team. The River Hawks' offense is paced by Chris Sharpe, who is batting .400 (22-for-55). Sharpe has a team-high eight doubles, two triples and six home runs. On the mound, UMass Lowell holds a 5.12 ERA. Thursday's starter Steve Xirinachs (0-1) has tallied five strikeouts and allowed eight runs on eight hits in 7.1 innings of work. Ken Harring is in his 13
th year at the helm of UMass Lowell. He owns a record of 412-366-1 at UMass Lowell.
Scouting the Rams
Rhode Island looks to start a winning streak after closing its weekend series against Arkansas with a win. The Rams are 6-8 through the first 14 games of 2017. As a team, URI is hitting .248. A duo of Chris Hess and Jordan Powell lead the lineup. Hess has a .357 batting average (20-for-56), adding two triples, a home run and five RBI. Powell is another productive hitter at .354 (17-for-48) and has four RBI. Mike Corin (.271) has tallied a team-high four home runs and 13 RBI. On the mound, the Rams sport a 4.01 ERA. Matt Murphy (2-1) is the Rams' ace with a team-best 1.88 ERA in 24.0 innings of work. Nick Johnson owns a 3.68 ERA and leads the Rams wih 22 strikeouts. Raphael Cerrato is in his third year at the helm of Rhode Island. He owns a 63-60-1 mark at URI.
Series History vs. UMass Lowell
W&M and UMass Lowell meet for the fourth time in series history on Thursday. The Tribe have dominated the series at 4-0. The last meeting the between the two programs occurred in 2015, when the Tribe swept three-game weekend. Each meeting has been played in the confines of Plumeri Park.
Series History vs. Rhode Island
William & Mary and Rhode Island will face off against each other for 10
th time in series history after the Tribe already beat the Rams once this year at the Irish Classic in North Carolina. In their previous meeting on March 5, the Tribe edged the Rams 2-1 to take a 5-4 all-time series lead.
On Deck
The Tribe compete in a pair of mid-week games, before opening CAA play at UNCW that weekend. The Green and Gold will make the trip the Blacksburg, Va., for its second game of the season against Virginia Tech on March 21 at 5:30 p.m. and then host another in-state foe in VMI the next day at 6 p.m.
There's No Place Like Home
W&M has been a tough team to beat at home with a 6-1 record at Plumeri Park. The Tribe began the season 4-0 in Williamsburg, before dropping a close 3-2 game against Saint Joseph's. The Green and Gold won three of its home contests by seven runs or more. On the other hand, the Tribe are 0-3 in true road games.
The Raquet Bros.
Nick and
Brandon Raquet both posted solid efforts to contribute to a two-game sweep of Yale on March 11-12. During Saturday's game, rookie
Brandon Raquet registered a banner day by picking up his first career four-hit game, driving in a run and recording a triple.
Nick Raquet followed suit the next day with a solid start on the mound, fanning a career-high nine batters and allowing just three runs on five hits though 6.2 innings of work.
Walk This Way
Junior
Cullen Large notched the Tribe's second walk-off hit of the season on Sunday (March 12). Against Yale, he smoked a two-run homer to right field to clinch a 7-6 win. Earlier this season, rookie
Michael Goldak lifted the Tribe to its first win of the season behind a two-out walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the 10
th against Lafayette on Feb. 24.
Weekly Awards
Freshman
Brandon Raquet burst onto the scene last weekend at No. 2 Florida on the way to CAA Rookie of the Week honors for the week of Feb. 20. Raquet hit .333 (4-for-12), including homer in his first career at-bat. He collected a hit in all three games, drove in two, and scored three times. For the second straight week, W&M won the CAA Rookie of the Week honor as
Patrick Ryan claimed the award. Ryan batted .444 (4-for-9) with four runs and four RBIs in the Tribe's sweep of Lafayette. W&M made it three straight CAA Weekly Honors as sophomore southpaw
Bodie Sheehan was tabbed the conference's Pitcher of the Week. He had a banner day during his start against Dayton on March 4. Sheehan allowed just three hits over 7.2 shutout innings and struck out a career-high 11 batters in the 7-0 triumph over the Flyers.
Large And In Charge
Junior Cullen Large is picking up where he left off of in 2016. The Chesterfield, Va. native is hitting .383 with eight doubles, one triple, two homers, and 18 RBI. Large has the longest active hitting streak among W&M players, riding a 12-game streak. He's the Tribe's top returning offensive threat, finishing 2016 with a .328 batting average, 20 doubles, two triples, seven homers, and 46 RBI.
