WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – The William & Mary baseball team finishes out its stretch of five home games in six days with a weekend series against MAAC opponent Quinnipiac. The three-game set begins Friday, Feb. 23 at 4 pm, resumes Saturday, Feb. 24 at 2 pm, and ends Sunday, Feb. 25 at 1 pm.
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.
W&M News and Notes
• W&M (1-4) split back-to-back mid-week games after dropping its fourth straight one-run decision to VCU, 4-3, and bouncing back with an offensively charged win over Maryland, 10-4. As a team, the Tribe hit .310 (22-for-71) with three doubles, a triple, a homer and 11 RBI. The pitching staff conceded just eight hits and eight runs (all earned), while holding batters to a .194 average.
• Junior
Bodie Sheehan was named CAA Pitcher of the Week for the week of Feb. 20. He went seven strong innings with four strikeouts, an earned run and three hits last Friday (Feb. 16) at No. 12 Clemson. The honor marks the third weekly conference award of his career.
• The Green and Gold is creating ripples in the national statistical rankings both as a team and individually. W&M ties 49
th in the NCAA in hits (42) and 34
th in doubles (9). Junior
Zach Pearson is tied 35
th in the country with eight hits, while senior
Ryan Hall ties 18
th in doubles (three) and 20
th in RBI (eight).
• W&M and Quinnipiac will meet for just the sixth-eighth time in series history this weekend. The Tribe is undefeated against the Bobcats with a 5-0 ledger. The last timeout was in 2012 where the Tribe claimed back-to-back wins by score of 13-5 and 9-5.
• Senior
Charlie Fletcher has made three appearances in the first five 2018 games and now ties fifth all-time (79) in program history. The Ashburn, Va., native has logged 3.1 innings of work with a strikeout, three runs (all earned) and four hits. He recently tossed a scoreless frame against VCU. Sophomore
Wade Strain also journaled three innings and ties first in the Colonial Athletic Association in games finished (three). Strain has allowed just one run and two hits, while fanning two in his relief work.
• The Tribe platted five two-out RBI during its game against Maryland. W&M had just two in total heading into the matchup. Hall paces the team with four, while sophomore
Brandon Raquet, junior
Hunter Smith and Pearson have one each.
• Senior
Craig McLane had a big day after filling in at left field versus the Terrapins. He smacked a career-high three hits, doubled and scored twice. The Richmond, Va., native also crossed home plate in the home-opener against VCU.
• Seven of the Tribe's 10 newcomers have seen action.
Jacob Haney was the first true freshman to earn an opening weekend start since 2012 on Sunday. Despite getting taxed with the loss, he fanned four batters and allowed two runs (both earned) on two hits in four innings.
Matt McDermott has started all five games, tallying four hits, a double and RBI.
Justin Pearson also recorded a solid effort after logging three scoreless relief innings with a strikeout against VCU. Graduate transfer
Andrew Burnick earned his first win after hurling two shutout frames against Maryland.
• 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 currently owns a 1-1 home record to start 2018.
• 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 120-112 (.517) and 54-35 (.600) mark in conference play.
