RICHMOND, Va. – Senior Charles Ameer registered the William & Mary baseball team's first grand slam of the season to help lift the Tribe to an 11-10 comeback win at in-state foe Richmond on Tuesday afternoon.
 
The triumph marked the Green and Gold's biggest rally of 2017 after overcoming an eight-run deficit. W&M now moves to 19-19 with the victory, while the Spiders fall to 13-22.
 
Eight of the nine Tribe starters recorded at least one hit. Ameer's grand slam was his seventh homer of the season, which is a team-best. Sophomore Owen Socher posted three hits, one RBI and two doubles, while redshirt sophomore Kyle Wrighte notched two hits and a double. Senior Ryder Miconi and junior Ryan Hall both drove in a pair of runs and hit doubles.
 
Richmond begin building its early eight-run advantage with five runs in the bottom of the first. Back-to-back walks set the table for a Daniel Brumbaugh RBI single to right field. A failed pickoff attempt led to the next run, before Kurtis Brown hit a two-RBI single up the middle. With two outs, R.J. Watters hit another RBI single to give the Spiders a 5-0 margin.
 
The Spiders continued their hot start on three combined runs in the second and third inning. Jonathan de Marte hit a two-run homer to center field in the bottom of the second. Brumbaugh then scored another run behind a single to left field, giving Richmond the 8-0 advantage.
 
Nonetheless, the Tribe produced a four-run fifth inning to start its comeback bid. Back-to-back singles to lead off the frame allowed Socher to drive in a run on an RBI double. Freshman Brandon Raquet drew a walk to load the bases, before Miconi was hit by a pitch to bring home freshman Michael Goldak. Socher scored the next run on an error by the pitcher, and sophomore Hunter Smith hit a sac fly to center field, creating an 8-4 affair.
 
UR pushed it back to a five-run game in the home half of the fifth inning. D.J. Lee forced a leadoff walk, stole consecutive bases and made it home courtesy of a fly out to center field, making it a 9-4 game.
 
However, The Green and Gold answered in a major way with a five-run rally in the top of the seventh. Raquet led off the frame with another walk and junior Cullen Large singled to right center on the next at bat. Miconi then doubled to left field to plate Raquet. A Hall walk juiced the bases, before Ameer capped the rally in exciting fashion by dialing up the game-changing grand slam to left center, tying to contest at 9-all.
 
The Spiders used the long ball to take the lead again in the bottom half of the seventh. With one out, Vinny Capra hit a solo shot to left center, putting UR back up at 10-9
 
W&M responded in the eighth inning after sparking a two-out rally for its first lead of the afternoon. Socher led off the frame with a double to left field. After two outs, Miconi was intentionally walked, before Hall smashed a two-RBI double to center field to give W&M the 11-10 lead.
 
In the bottom of the ninth, senior Nick Brown was placed on the mound to protect the Tribe's one-run advantage. Brown retired the side in order on a fly out, ground out and then a pop up for his first save of the season and the second of his career.
 
Aaron Fernandez (1-3) earned his first win of the season after recording two strikeouts and limiting Richmond to one run on four hits in 2.2 innings of work.
 
Brumbaugh (3-2) was dealt the loss as he stepped on the mound for two innings of relief to tally three K's and allow four runs, all of them earned, on four hits.
 
The Tribe concluded its season-long six-game road trip and will return to action tomorrow at Plumeri Park with the second of two meetings against Maryland at 6 p.m.