WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – The William & Mary baseball team opens its home schedule with five games in six days, starting with a pair of mid-week matchups against in-state rival VCU and Big Ten foe Maryland. The Tribe welcomes the Rams on Tuesday, Feb. 20 at 4 pm, before hosting the Terrapins the following day (Feb. 21) with another 4 pm first pitch.
Each game will be broadcasted on Tribe Athletics TV via Portal Stretch Internet. Streaming and live stats links are available on the Tribe Baseball
schedule page.
Fans can enjoy $2 hot dogs & popcorn as part of Tasty Tuesday and purchase a $1 youth ticket with the purchase of an adult ticket on Wednesday.
W&M News and Notes
• The Tribe (0-3) is looking for its first win after falling in three close games at No. 12 Clemson during opening weekend. Each contest ended in a one-run decision. Junior
Zach Pearson highlighted the offensive production after hitting .364 (4-for-11) with two doubles and two RBI. Junior
Bodie Sheehan also went seven strong innings with four strikeouts and an earned run on three hits in his Friday start.
• W&M and VCU will meet for the 97th time in series history on Tuesday. The Rams own a 53-42-1 all-time series lead against the Tribe. Last year, the Green and Gold held VCU to just three hits in claiming a 5-1 road win. The triumph snapped a three-game sked against the Rams.
• W&M and Maryland will face off for the 30
th time in series history on Wednesday. The Terrapins boasts an 18-10-1 all-time series lead over the Tribe. W&M dropped both games against the Terrapins last year. The last time the Tribe topped UM was in 2010.
• After making a pair of appearances last weekend, senior
Charlie Fletcher moved to seventh (78) all-time in school history. His next appearance will tie him for fifth in the record books.
• Six of the Tribe's 10 newcomers saw action in the weekend opener.
Jacob Haney headlined the group with his Sunday start. Despite getting taxed with the loss, he fanned four batted and allowed two runs (both earned) on two hits in four innings.
Matt McDermott also doubled in his first at bat.
• Senior
Ryan Hall and junior
Hunter Smith both blasted their first home run of the season over the weekend. Hall launched a three-run jack in the opener and Smith knocked a solo shot in game two. Additionally, sophomore
Patrick Ryan and Pearson are riding a three-game hitting streak.
• Hall and Pearson both tied 12th in program history with two doubles in a game. Pearson hit just two doubles last season, while Hall led the team in the category. Furthermore, W&M is second-best in the conference in doubles (6).
• W&M will play against another school from the Commonwealth 13 times in 2018. The Tribe plays VCU (Feb. 20), Virginia (Feb. 28), Radford (March 6-7), George Mason (March 21), Old Dominion (March 28; April 10), James Madison (April 13-15), Norfolk State (April 17), Richmond (April 24), and Virginia Tech (May 15).
• The Green and Gold is coming off a well-decorated 2017 season after tying seventh for the most wins (32) in program history. W&M finished top-three in the CAA standings for its fifth consecutive postseason appearance, which is a program-best since qualifying started for the CAA Baseball Tournament. At the end of the season, four Tribe players signed minor league contracts – two of which were selected in the first five rounds of the MLB draft.
• A trio of Tribe Baseball players earned preseason recognition from the Colonial Athletic Association, highlighted by sophomore
Brandon Raquet making the All-Conference Team. Hall and Smith both received Honorable Mention distinctions. In the predicted order of finish, the Tribe tied fifth with Elon with 37 points. UNCW (six first-place votes) is the preseason favorite, followed by Delaware (three first-place votes) and College of Charleston rounding out the top three.
• The Tribe returns a plethora of experienced position players for 2018. A total of seven players made at least 38 appearances last year. Hall, a .299 career hitter, made the most starts in 2017 with 55. Raquet also saw action in 50-plus games and owns the top batting average (.337) among returners.
• In the comfy confines of Plumeri Park, W&M was at the top of its game last year. The Tribe went 18-7 (.720) when facing opponents in Williamsburg. Nine of the team's wins were by five runs or more. The Tribe is scheduled to hold 30 home dates at Plumeri this year.
• Under head coach
Brian Murphy, W&M has fashioned three 30-plus win seasons in his four years as the skipper. His most wins (34) occurred in his first season at the helm (2014), resulting in CAA Coach of the Year honors. Murphy owns a career record of 119-108 (.524) and 54-35 (.600) mark in conference play.
