The William & Mary baseball series opener with High Point today (March 2) is postponed due to high winds in the area. W&M and HPU will instead play a doubleheader on Saturday (March 3), beginning at 1 pm. The three-game set will conclude on Sunday, March 4 at 1 pm.
WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – The William & Mary baseball team returns to Plumeri Park for its second five-game homestand, beginning with a three-game series against High Point. The weekend set opens with a doubleheader on Saturday, March 3, starting at 1 pm, and closes on Sunday, March 4 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 and HPU will matchup for just the eighth-10
th time in series history this weekend. The Panthers own a slime 4-3 all-time series lead, but the Tribe is 2-1 in Williamsburg. During the previous meeting (2014), HPU claimed a three-game series, 2-1, by a combined six runs and two of the contest went to extra innings.
• The W&M pitching staff highlighted a bizarre 11-inning affair at No. 18 Virginia on Wednesday (Feb. 28). A group of seven Tribe hurlers allowed just one earned run to carry the Green and Gold to extra innings without a hit. Junior
Nick Butts and sophomore
Wade Strain headlined the effort with three strong innings apiece. Butts surrendered three hits, but fanned a career-high three batters. Strain went hitless with a strikeout in his late appearance to send the contest to extras.
• The month of February pitted the Green and Gold against three Power Five opponents, two of which were ranked top 20 in the nation. In four total games at ACC members No. 10 Clemson and No. 18 Virginia, the Tribe fell in each contest by a combined four runs and went extra innings twice. However, W&M scored a season-high 10 runs in a triumph over Big Ten affiliate Maryland.
• The Green and Gold opens up March with eight consecutive games against Big South programs in High Point, Radford, and Campbell. In all-time series history, W&M boasts a 64-53 (.542) record against Big South opponents. After the weekend series against the High Point, the Tribe hosts Radford in back-to-back mid-weeks games (March 6-7), before travelling to Campbell for a three-game set (March 9-11).
• As a team, W&M ranks fifth in the Colonial Athletic Association with 58 hits at the end of February. The Green and Gold tallied a season-best 13 hits in its 10-4 win over Maryland on Wednesday (Feb. 21). Junior
Zach Pearson leads the team in hits (10) and batting average (.313).
• Four-year veteran
Charlie Fletcher now ties third in program history with 81 career appearances on the bump. The Ashburn, Va., native was called in for relief five times this year, which ties him for first in the conference. He tossed a scoreless inning in his last three outings, allowing just one hit. Fletcher will break the Tribe record with 15 more appearances.
• Senior
Ryan Hall needs just one more double to tie 15th all-time in Tribe history. Over the course of his career, Hall has doubled 45 times. He currently ties 45th in the NCAA and first in the CAA with four doubles on the year. The Richmond, Va., native is also tied first in the conference in runs scored (seven) and fourth in RBI (eight).
• Both Hall and rookie
Matt McDermott pace the Tribe with the longest active on-base streak, six straight games. Senior
Luca Farina has reached safely in three consecutive games, including three out of the last four. Farina drew a season-high two walks at Virginia and ties third in the CAA with a total of six.
• 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 on Feb. 16 at No. 12 Clemson. The honor marks the third weekly conference award of his career. Furthermore, Sheehan has fanned 12 batters in a conference-leading 14 innings of work.
• Rookie
Justin Pearson has shown signs of promise in his two appearances of relief. The Stafford, Va., product is yet to surrender a run in four innings of work. He went three innings with three hits and a strikeout against VCU (Feb. 20), before fanning a batter and conceding a hit in an inning versus Quinnipiac (Feb. 25). Pearson also tops the CAA in runners picked off (two).
• Graduate transfer
Andrew Burnick earned his first win in a Green and Gold uniform last week. He hurled two shutout frames, including two strikeouts and no hits, against Big Ten rival Maryland. Burnick has logged 4.0 innings of work out of the bullpen, fanned four batters and held opponents to a .133 hitting average.
• The Tribe has launched three home runs in the first two weeks of 2018. Hall was the first W&M player to go yard with a three-run bomb (14th of his career) in the season-opener at No. 12 Clemson. Junior
Hunter Smith followed up the next day with a solo jack, the eighth of his career. In the triumph over Maryland, Pearson blasted his second homer at W&M.
• 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.
• 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 120-116 (.508) and 54-35 (.600) mark in conference play as of March 1.
