Norfolk, Va. – During its second consecutive game against a Hampton Roads rival, the William & Mary baseball team suffered a 9-3 setback at Norfolk State on Wednesday evening.
With the loss, the Tribe falls to 18-16, while the Spartans improve to 15-14.
W&M was paced by redshirt sophomore
Kyle Wrighte and senior
Ryder Miconi. Wrighte finished 2-for-3 with a double, while Miconi produced a homer and drove in a couple of runs.
Both teams started quickly with three runs scored in each half of the first inning. In the top of the frame, sophomore
Owen Socher led off with a walk. The next batter Wrighte singled to center filed, advancing Socher 90 feet away from home plate. Junior
Ryan Hall followed up with a sac fly to left center to score Socher. On the next at bat, Miconi recorded his fifth homer of the season behind a two-run bomb to right field, giving W&M a 3-0 lead.
NSU answered with a two-out three-run rally in the home half of the first. Alex Mauricio pushed across the first run on a RBI single through the right side. Justin Burrell registered a two-RBI single up the middle to create a 3-all tie.
The Spartans ignited another rally to break the tie in the fifth inning. Leadoff hitter Johnny Mayer was hit by a pitch, then stole second and made it to third base on a wild pitch. Andre' Moore notched a bunt single to plate Mayer and give NSU the lead.
Another wild pitch scored the next run, and a Roger Hall RBI single kept the rally going. The Spartans added one more run in the frame thanks to a wild pitch, putting NSU ahead 7-3.
In the sixth inning, the Spartans padded their advantage with a pair of runs. A two-RBI triple from Brian Beard did the damage as Norfolk State went up 9-3 and held the Tribe scoreless through the remainder of the contest for the win.
Aaron Fernandez was dealt the loss, posting three strikeouts and four runs on two hits through 3.1 innings.
Chase Anderson tossed a complete game to earn the win. He recorded 10 strikeouts and allowed three runs on seven hits.
The Green and Gold are back at it tomorrow with a trip to East Tennessee State for its final non-conference series of the regular season. The three-game set begins Thursday at 6:30 p.m., continues Friday at 6:30 p.m. and wrap ups on Saturday at 1 p.m.
