WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – The William & Mary baseball team will compete against a pair of in-state rivals for mid-week action as the Tribe heads to Virginia Tech on Tuesday and returns home to host VMI on Wednesday.
ON TAP
W&M takes on a pair of Commonwealth rivals in Virginia Tech and VMI for mid-week action on March 21-22. The Tribe heads to Blacksburg, Va., to compete against the Hokies for the second time this season on Tuesday. First pitch is set for 5:30 p.m. W&M then hosts the Keydets for their first meeting of season on Wednesday. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. The programs were scheduled to play each other in Lexington, Va., earlier this year, but the game was postponed due to a forecast of rain.
SCOUTING THE HOKIES
Virginia Tech aims to stretch its winning streak to three straight after defeating No. 1 Florida State in back-to-back games to claim the weekend series. The Hokies enter mid-week action with a 13-9 record. The Hokies boasts a .304 batting average as a team. The VT lineup has five players hitting over .300. Jack Owens leads the offense with a .404 batting average (40-for-99), adding seven doubles and 13 RBI. Sam Fragle is hitting .398 (35-for-88) and paces the team in home runs (nine), triples (3) and RBI (33). VT holds a 5.32 ERA as a team. Nick Anderson leads the pitching staff with 31.0 innings unders his belt. He's posted 24 strikeouts and has a 1.74 ERA. Patrick Mason is in his fourth season at the helm of Virginia Tech. He is 83-112-1 during his tenure.
SCOUTING THE KEYDETS
VMI enters the week at 8-10 and looks to reach .500 with a home game against Richmond, before heading to Williamsburg to face the Tribe. The Keydets are hitting .272 as a team. Matt Pita is batting .361 (26-for-72) to lead the offense and has tallied five doubles, three homers and 14 RBI. Will Malbon owns a .349 batting average (22-for-63) and boasts team highs with six doubles, two triples and 16 RBI. On the mound, VMI has a 5.68 ERA. The Keydets have relied on Josh Winder as their ace with 38.1 innings of work, a team-high 42 strikeouts and a 3.29 ERA. Jonathan Hadra is in his third year as head coach of his alma mater. He is 50-75 at VMI.
ON DECK
The Tribe opens Colonial Athletic Association play this weekend with a three-game trip to UNCW for a CAA Championship rematch. The series will be held on March 24-26. The lid-lifter of the series is slated for Friday March 24 at 6 p.m. W&M then returns home for back-to-back mid-week home games against Hampton Road rivals Old Dominion and Norfolk State.
SERIES HISTORY vs. VIRGINIA TECH
W&M and VT meet for the 26
th time in series history and for the second time in 2017 on Tuesday. In their previous matchup, W&M pounded the Hokies en route to 19-10 victory at home on March 8. With the win, the Tribe take a 13-12 all-time series lead over the Hokies.
SERIES HISTORY vs. VMI
The Tribe will then meet VMI for the 47th time in series history on Wednesday evening. It's the first meeting since April 21, 2015 after the first matchup of 2017 between the programs was postponed due to inclement weather.
THE CENTURY MARK
Head Coach
Brian Murphy is just two shy of capturing his 100
th career win at the helm of William & Mary. Murphy has compiled a 98-90 record in the midst of his fourth season as head coach. He guided the program to its first Colonial Athletic Association Championship since 2001 and made an NCAA Regional Final Appearance last year. Murphy's other accolades include 2014 CAA Coach of the Year and 2016 VaSID Coach of the year.
THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME
W&M concluded its season-long seven-game homestead on Saturday, in which the team went 5-2 during the span to move its record to 11-7. The Tribe are now 8-2 at Plumeri Park and won four of those contests by seven runs or more. On the other hand, the Tribe are 0-3 in true road games.
LARGE AND IN CHARGE
Junior
Cullen Large is picking up where he left off of in 2016. The Chesterfield, Va. native is hitting .400 with nine doubles, two triple, two homers, and 20 RBI. Large has the longest active hitting streak among W&M players, riding a 16-game streak.
HALL PASS
Junior
Ryan Hall registered a career day in the series lid-lifter against Rhode Island on March 17. The Preseason All-CAA honoree tied for second most hits in single-game school history by finishing 5-for-5 with two RBI and three runs scored, carrying the Tribe to a 11-2 victory. Hall has held down the leadoff spot on a .379 season batting average to go along with 22 hits, 13 RBI, three double and a pair of home runs. He has also registered five multi-hit and multi-RBI games apiece.
COMMONWEALTH CLASH
W&M squares off from another school from the Commonwealth 14 times in 2017. The Tribe plays Virginia (L, 3-11), VMI (3/1 Postponed; 3/22), Virginia Tech (W, 19-10, 3/21), Norfolk State (3/28, 4/12), Old Dominion (3/29, 4/11), VCU (4/4), Richmond (4/18), James Madison (4/21-23) and George Mason (4/26). Currently, the Tribe is 1-1 against state rivals this season.
